A New Start
by mallorysmannequin
Summary: Bella decides to go to The College of Charleston to start out on her own and meets a young man named Jasper. He helps her come out of her shell and she helps him get rid of his bad boy ways. BEING REDONE.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello all! I know this story was published a long time ago, but since I have grown as a writer, I have decided to try and redo it because I feel like it is not up to standards as it should be. I'll try and keep as much of the story the same as I can. If you've already read it, read it again for my sake and drop a review so I know if it's worth it or not.**

**Thanks for reading and of course, I own nothing!**

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It was August 24th, and I was moving into my dorm. It was small, but I was lucky. I got my own room. I was looking forward to the heat of Charleston, the sun. The city was beautiful, seeped in history. The city always seemed to be alive, whether it be 2AM or 2 in the afternoon. There were always some people running around. I didn't mind the tourists either, they kept my taxes low and during the off season I figured it wouldn't be too much of a bother. Coming from Phoenix, the muggy heat of Charleston had me gasping for air the moment I walked off the plane. This was no longer the dry heat I was used to.

Finding a job in Charleston was the easiest part. I found a simple job as a hostess at Hyman's. The hours were flexible and weren't overly complicated which would help me stay focused on school.

School officially started on September 1st but I was eager to get everything unpacked. I plugged my Mac into the wall and set it on the cheap, made to look like wood desk set against one wall. I stood back against the door, wiping the sweat from my forehead. I almost wished I had a roommate to help me unpack, but it was too late now. After I had gotten my bed made and my clothes in the closet, I looked at the walls. They were a dull white, but I had brought some pictures of the forestry in Forks, where my dad lived, with me. The scenery in Forks was beautiful, but I hadn't been there since I was 14. It seemed like the population was about 20 people and it was bland. I regretted not seeing my dad as often as I should have but I just couldn't take myself away from my mom and the heat of Phoenix.

I was kind of awkward to get along with during my adolescent years. It was hard to go to Forks with Charlie and try to make conversation for two weeks. That's another reason I decided to move here for school. I need to grow into myself and although I was kind of forced to grow up fast because Renee, well, as much as I love her, she's kind of off the wall. She's more of a kid than I am. I'm thankful she found Phil, though. He seems to keep her in line.

I looked in the mirror and pulled the hair band from my hair. I redid the messy bun I had it in and wiped the mascara from under my eyes. It had taken longer than I thought it would to get everything settled, but I decided the day wasn't totally wasted so I dug some khaki shorts out of the dresser and a navy tank top and decided to do some sightseeing. Renee made me promise before she left that I would send her pictures weekly, if not daily.

Grabbing a towel, I headed down to the community bathroom. I showered in relative peace since no one was here. It felt good to be on my own, in a new city where no one knew me and I could start all over. I finished getting ready, grabbed my camera and walked out the door. I didn't even bother with a map, my mom always told me that the best way to get to know a city was to get lost in it.

I walked down Sorority Row first, taking pictures of the beautiful, old majestic houses. I laughed a little at the large Greek letters, nailed to the oddly colored houses. Some of the letters were crooked and others were well on their way to falling on the ground. I secretly desired to be a part of these "elite groups." I laughed at myself and kept walking. I saw the building that housed science and mathematics. I felt like a tourist in my own city. Well, in a way, I was.

One thing I didn't thing about when choosing to attend the College of Charleston was the treacherous sidewalks. They tilted to the side, they randomly had holes right when you were walking. As I looked up from the terrifying sight of an uneven sidewalk, I spotted one of the most beautiful people I had ever seen in my eighteen years of life. Silently creeping behind my sunglasses and not looking where I was going, I tripped. Right there, in front of that beautiful man walking toward me. Luckily the only thing that was hurt was my self-esteem and as I was getting up and regaining my dignity I heard someone getting closer. _Damn._

"Hi," he laughed, "I saw you fall over there. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Thanks." I continued to brush the dirt from my knees.

"Tourist or student?" he asked.

"Student, but I guess kind of both. I just moved from Arizona. And apparently, I'm not used to old sidewalks." I cringed at my awkwardness. I hoped one of the holes in the sidewalk would grow a foot or two and swallow me whole.

"Oh, well. You should definitely be more careful. You wouldn't want to get injured before classes even started."

"No, I guess not." I ran my hand through my hair, hoping I didn't look too stupid. "Thanks for laughing, by the way." I half smiled.

"I'm sorry. It's just not every day you see a pretty girl trip on Sorority Row-unless you know, you come down here at night and they're all drunk."

It took me a minute to regain my thoughts. _This guy? Calling me pretty? _I tried to laugh, but it came out more like a nervous giggle. This guy was tall, about 6'3'' and had honey colored hair. It was perfectly wavy and messy. I just wanted to run my fingers through it, but I kept my fingers thoroughly wrapped around my camera to keep from doing anything stupid. His eyes were the lightest gray and I felt like I could get lost in them. Cheesy, I know. He had on a white v neck shirt with navy shorts and flip-flops. He had the most adorable voice, just southern enough not to be annoying.

"I bet. Do you go here, too?"

"Yeah. I'm a freshman, but I really should be a sophomore. I started last year but I didn't put any effort into it and quit by October. I gained some sense over the year and decided to try again."

I nodded. I couldn't think of anything else to say. "Yeah. So I hear this is a party school, I'm assuming with what you just said about the sorority that that rumor is correct?"

"Not if you hang out with the right people. Like me." He smiled a huge grin and I couldn't keep from laughing.

"Right. I'll keep that in mind." I tapped my temple as if to show I was making a mental note of what he just said.

"Please do. But hey, I'm running late so I've got to go, but before I do, can I catch your name?"

"It's Bella." I smiled brightly. "What's yours?"

"Jasper. Jasper Hale. This is a huge campus, but I'll make sure you find you again."

"Got it. I'll be on the lookout." I bit my lip, an annoying habit I had gained throughout the years. He smiled and walked by. I turned around and watched him walk down the sidewalk. And just when I felt like I creep for watching him go, he turned around and winked. I blushed instantly and hurried down the sidewalk, making sure not to trip anymore. I continued on my walk, heading toward The Battery and the river. I walked down Tradd St. and turned left to get onto South Battery. I hurried onto the raised sidewalk, looking out onto the conjunction of the Ashley and Cooper Rivers.

The sun was low in the sky and it made a beautiful picture. I snapped a few and turned around to take a few of the beautiful houses along the river. I walked back up the sidewalk, coming to the park. I climbed the stone steps to the road and ran across, being extra careful not to trip in the middle of a busy street. The park was surrounded by model cannons from the Civil War and statues of important people from Charleston. I turned and I could see Fort Sumter in the distance. I smiled at my new surroundings. I snapped more pictures to email home and decided it was time to head back. I had work in an hour and I didn't want to be late for my first day.

I walked back to my dorm, carefully settling my camera on the desk next to my Mac. Getting ready for work, I pulled the lime green Hyman's Crew t shirt and black shorts they required. I looked at myself one last time before I walked out of the dorm for the second time that day, down Wentworth Street and onto Meeting Street. As I stood outside, trying to get the large crowd settled, someone tapped me on the shoulder smiling as they walked by. I looked up, searching for who had tapped my shoulder, and found the same gray eyes from earlier. He smiled.

**Thanks for reading! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you all who put my story on alert and the people who reviewed! It meant so much. I've come up with a story line and it's slightly darker than I intended, but since I've had some experience with what I'm thinking of I feel like it's perfect. **

I waved, calling the Cannon party of three to the stand to let them know their table was ready. I waved them on to the next hostess, letting her know they needed to go to table 440B. I scanned the crowd in front of me for Jasper, but he wasn't there. I was slightly miffed he wasn't there, but I had other things to worry about; for now, anyway. I continued calling names for the next three hours, until eight when we weren't as busy. I sat down in front of the restaurant waiting for the next people to come up. I really wanted to check my phone to see if Angela had called or texted me, but I didn't want to risk getting in trouble. I really needed a job. I got off at nine and it was 8:15. It was muggy outside but I loved every minute of it. I eventually went inside, clocking out and headed back to my dorm. It was getting dark, but I wasn't scared. I felt safe here. But I felt safe a lot of places normal people wouldn't. I was _weird. _Or so I had been told.

As I was walking down the hall to my dorm, someone was coming out of the dorm next to mine. She was tall and very beautiful. She had blonde hair that fell into ringlets and her eyes were a bright blue. She smiled at me. "Hi! I'm Rosalie. "

I waved at her. "I'm Bella. Nice to meet you."

"You too!" She laughed. "I guess you work at Hyman's, huh?"

Looking down at my shirt, I felt lame. "Yeah. I have to make money somehow."

"I don't blame you there. I was just going to get a cup of coffee. Do you feel like tagging along?" I really didn't, but I figured I needed some friends so I agreed.

"Sure, just give me a minute to clean up. You can come in, if you want."

She followed me into my dorm, where I threw my lime green shirt into the hamper. I had a tank top on underneath so I didn't feel the need to be super modest. The shorts I had on from work seemed alright so I just left them on. I put on some flip flops. I grabbed my phone, and we headed out. I could tell Rosalie liked to talk a lot, and she was flashy.

"I just moved here from Texas. I love it. It's so pretty. I used to know everyone in Texas and now I feel like I don't know anyone." She looked sad momentarily but then immediately perked up. "Good thing I'm so outgoing! Anyway, my brother goes here. He should be a sophomore but he's a complete idiot and dropped out. So he's a freshman, like us." She rolled her eyes. I looked over at her, wondering if Jasper would be her brother. They had a similar accent, and they looked similar. Right as I was about to add a word in, she continued. "His name is Jasper. He's an idiot, but I've already said that before. He likes music a lot." She stopped like she had something else to say, I thought I saw something on her face that didn't look like a good look. She noticed I was trying to read her and she snapped out of her daze. I nodded. "Oh, Bella! I've talked so much, tell me about yourself!"

I laughed. I actually really liked this girl; she was easy to get along with, even if she did talk a lot. And her brother was Jasper, so that was a plus. "Well, obviously my name is Bella. I lived with my mom and her new husband until they decided to move to Jacksonville and by that time, it was time for me to go to college anyway. I decided to come here, because I love history and I love the heat so I figured it was perfect. I don't know anyone, but that's okay because I'm looking for a new start." I pushed the hair out of my face. She nodded and we continued straight onto King Street.

"Makes sense, my mom wanted me to stay close to home but since Jasper was already out here I decided I'd follow him so I wouldn't feel so homesick. We were really close as kids but now we're not as close. I guess we wanted different things. Have you met him?"

"Yeah, actually, ironically as that is, I have. I tripped on the sidewalk earlier today and he laughed at me."

She started laughing loudly. "That sounds like him. I'm sorry." She covered her mouth.

"It's fine! He apologized."

"Jasper, apologizing? Hm, that's news to me."

I wanted to ask more about her brother, he seemed intriguing. She continued talking about her life back in Texas, what she was majoring in, what she liked to do. We were similar, yet we were different in so many ways. I bit my lip to keep from asking about her brother, I didn't want to seem creepy. Rosalie leaned in close. "Look at that guy over there. Isn't he gorgeous? I think he's looking at me." She flipped her hair and checked her lip gloss. I turned halfway around to look at the guy she was currently speaking about. He was absolutely huge. A giant, really. He had dark brown eyes and hair and must have been about 6'8". He smiled towards Rosalie and she giggled. I had a feeling I should get going. "I hate to end this, but it's getting kind of late and I should be headed back anyway. And you're right- I think that guy is checking you out." She laughed and I stood up. "Hey, be sure to tell me about it sometime!"

"I definitely will."

I turned and walked out of Starbucks, heading up King Street and towards the dorms. After I had started walking, I felt someone following me. I turned around but I didn't see anyone but the people closing up the expensive shops of King Street and the late nighters heading out to find a good bar. I figured it was just my nerves about being in a new city. It was getting kind of later than I thought, and I probably should have waited for Rosalie but me and my stupid ignorance decided to leave. A few minutes later, I still felt it so I picked up my pace. I tried to watch where I was going but yet again, I could see nothing so yet again, I tripped. I didn't hit the ground though, because someone caught me around the waist.

I flailed my arms widely, trying to free myself. "Stop! Let go! I'm fine! Who is that!"

The silent person started laughing and it was the same laugh I had heard earlier in the day. "You know, you really should watch your step. You said earlier the sidewalks were awful- you shouldn't run in the dark."

"Well, normally I don't have the odd feeling like someone is chasing me so I don't have to." I smiled in the dark, but he probably couldn't see it.

"That's a good point."

"What are you doing, anyway? Stalking me?"

"No, actually. Today when you were at work, you were the one standing outside and I was headed to the book store on the corner and I couldn't resist saying hello. And then just now I was coming from a store beside the Starbucks and I saw you. I was trying to catch up, honestly, I was, but every time I'd get close enough, you'd pick up the pace. I was kind of hoping you'd trip, actually."

"Yeah? And why's that?"

"So you'd slow down." I scoffed and we started walking up the street.

"Funny. Anyway, I just had a delightful time with your sister."

"You know my sister?"

"Well, not really know. Her dorm is beside mine and she asked if I wanted to get coffee with her and I accepted. She started talking about how she had a brother who was, and I quote 'a complete idiot' who should be a sophomore but he dropped out in October and then decided to come back so he was a freshman and then she said his name was Jasper so obviously it's you."

"Oh, wonderful, what else did my darling sister have to say?"

"About you or about herself?"

He laughed loudly at that and I was glad I could not make myself look like a fool for a little while. "That sounds like her. Anyway, what did she have to say?"

"Not too much, just that you liked music and you were a complete idiot, which I have already stated."

"Of course. And yes, I do like music a lot. I was in a band for awhile but I decided to come back to school. It was a smarter choice. I'm actually glad my sister came out here. I've missed her." We were almost to my dorm by this point and I wanted to keep talking to Jasper. I had only talked to him for a little while but I felt like we instantly connected.

"We're almost to your dorm, you know."

"Yes, it does look that way."

"I'd like to keep talking." My breath hitched in my throat and I thought I was dreaming just a little bit. "Bella, are you in there?" He was standing in front of me, looking at me quizzically.

"Oh! Right! Yes, let's keep talking." I sat down on the bench in front of the entrance.

"So," he began, "Bella, tell me about yourself." I pulled my knees up to my chest and looked at him under the street light. He was beautiful. I just wanted to jump him right there, but I knew that would be totally inappropriate.

"Alright, well, my name is Bella and I'll be 19 in little less than three weeks. I moved here from Phoenix. I don't like the cold and that's why I decided to come here for college. I like history. I also like to write and photography. I'm not usually talkative, but I came here for a new start, so I'm trying to come out of my shell." I started to get very nervous and I'm not sure why. I bit my lip and tried to think of what else I should say. "I'm an extreme klutz, as you could tell. I'm not really up on pop culture; I mostly use the internet to email my parents back home. I read a ton and I've probably read every classic there is. My favorite is Wuthering Heights. I'm an English major and I hope I'lll teach 10th grade English in the future. Figuring that was enough information for now, I stopped and looked up at him. "What about you?"

"Well, my name is Jasper, but you know that. And I have a sister named Rosalie and you also know that. I'm from Texas, and I'm counting on the fact you know that as well. I like history a lot, and I'm studying to be an American history teacher. I really love the Civil War period though. It's fascinating. I watch a lot of movies and I play guitar and piano." He paused for a second. "Oh, and I'm in the Kappa Sigma Fraternity."

"Oh, a frat boy, are you? How's that possible already?"

"That's a very good question. I made it in last year and I've got friends. I really shouldn't be but my best friend Emmett who's very tall, and really scary looking pulled some strings." He smirked.

"Oh, is this Emmett guy really big, looks like he played some major high school football?"

"Yeah, that's him. Why? "

"Well, he was checking out your sister in Starbucks." I repressed a giggle. "And I left to give them a chance to talk." Jasper looked like he was about to choke.

"Well damn." I couldn't help it anymore, I started giggling. "It's okay," I said. "Tell me about your fraternity."

"Okay, let's see. I don't really like it anymore. It was something I was into the first time around, God I feel stupid for saying that. But Rosalie wants to join a sorority so I'm stuck because I think if I'm in it, it'll help her chances. But I promise, I'm a good boy, or well, let's say I try to be, but sometimes it's hard for me to resist temptation."

I nodded. I could understand. "What makes you think you're so bad?" My hand flew to my mouth; I was shocked at what had just come out of my mouth. I blushed instantly, red as a beet. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say that out loud. It really isn't any of my business."

"It's alright, I'll tell you soon but not right now. I don't want to scare you away." He smiled and I tried to imagine what in the world could scare me off. Me, of all people but I didn't want to pry. I had a feeling he had a past, and I wanted to know.

We talked for awhile but eventually I had to go inside because I was about to drop dead from exhaustion. I noticed Rosalie hadn't come back yet- I hoped she was okay even though we had just met. Jasper walked me to the door of my dorm. Luckily I didn't trip in the flat hallway, embarrassing myself further in front of him. I opened the door and stood in the doorway, facing him. I barley reached his shoulder, so I looked up at him and he looked down at me.

"Goodnight, Bella." He leaned down and in so his forehead was barely half an inch from mine, he was so close I could feel his breath. I was trying my hardest not to swoon and I was kind of epically failing. When I could remember how to speak, I responded. "Goodnight, Jasper."

**I know Rosalie sounds a lot like Alice, but I just like Rosalie better as a friend for Bella. Alice will come eventually though. Also, I know the frat thing is a bit far fetched, but I liked the idea. Thanks for reading! **


	3. Chapter 3

**Again, thank you for reading and those of you who have reviewed my story and put it on alert! It keeps me writing. I know I said Alice was going to come in, but I'm not really sure how big a part she'll have. **

**This takes place on Monday, btw.**

The next five days had gone by so fast I was I wasn't sure they actually had. I hadn't heard from Jasper or seen him, which made me more curious about him. I sat staring at the large projector screen in the front of the auditorium. The professor was draining on and on and I felt myself dozing off. I sat up 90 degrees in my seat to keep from falling over.

After class I saw Rosalie walking through Marion Square. She waved toward me and I smiled. We sat down in the grass and she pulled out a huge text book. "What in the world is that?"

"Well, since I'm majoring in Early Childhood Education and I have to have the first three chapters annotated by Thursday so I figured I better start early."

"That really sucks. I have a paper due at the end of the week, but that's nothing compared to what you have to do. So tell me, how was that guy at Starbucks?"

"He was hilarious! He's in the Kappa Sigma fraternity… "she dazed off for a minute, trying to think of how to choose her words carefully. "But he seems really sweet. He's a sophomore and he's taking courses for pre-law so he must be decently smart. We seemed to hit it off."

"Your brother said that's probably his best friend." I laughed a little and Rosalie became wide eyed and looked like she wanted to cry.

"What! How do you know that?"

"Well after I left Starbucks, I was walking home and I felt like someone was following me and I tripped and your brother caught me. We started talking, and then he started saying how he got to stay in his fraternity because of Emmett. He said that since you wanted to be in a sorority so he figured it might help you out." Rosalie nodded, smiling at me.

"So he's still in the fraternity?"

"That's what he said."

She looked nervous. "So how are your classes?"

"They're alright; the one I just came from was incredibly boring though. I dozed off a little." We talked for awhile; she avoided the subject of her brother. She told me more about Emmett, and I told her about my life in Arizona. We left Marion Square and headed back to our dorms.

I had a few hours to kill until it was time for me to head into work and I prayed it wouldn't be too crowded. The summer season was winding down and the last few tourists were there for the last two weekends of summer. I felt my life was falling into a repetitive rut and although I didn't mind it so much, I wanted some excitement. Work was boring, except there was a bartender that I hadn't noticed before. She worked right inside where I stood outside, guarding the hostess stand. She had short almost black hair, and a pixie like face. She was going from one side of the bar to the other faster than I could have walked the six feet to the bar. I wondered if she was a college student, or just here. She looked about my age, but she was so little. I wanted to laugh a little.

**RPOV**

When Bella told me Jasper was still a member of the fraternity, I got worried. The whole reason he came here for college when he was 18 was because of his issues with alcohol. I didn't think he ever did drugs, my family heard he did, and my family heard he didn't. We weren't ever sure. When we tried to help, he just shut down. I loved my older brother more than anything, and I was afraid that when he came to college, he would fall back into his old habits. He seemed to be trying to clean himself up, but it just wasn't working. We kept trying to help, but everything we did he didn't want anything to do with. We were more worried than anything.

He would leave our house when he still lived at home and he wouldn't come home for days at a time. We found him passed out in his car on the side of the road one night and that was our breaking point. This was in the middle of his senior year. My parents decided it was best if he were to be home schooled, if he took online classes, you know. He agreed, but he withdrew from us. The brother I once loved and looked up to so much no longer wanted anything to do with us. It broke all our hearts. He finished school, but he made no effort to spend any time with us or get better. My parents made sure all of their alcohol was locked or thrown away.

After a while, he got involved with a band, which made all of us happier. I didn't know if it helped him get alcohol, or helped him stay away. I didn't ask because I didn't want to know. He had always loved music. We asked if he would play for us and he wouldn't. One day he came down from us room which was unusual and told us he was going to The College of Charleston. We couldn't disagree- we thought it might help him to get away from here. He packed up over the summer, he even let me help but he wouldn't let us fly with him there. My parents had stopped trying to be involved with his life months before he decided to leave. We always suspected he kept drinking even though he said he had stopped. So on a humid, August afternoon, he boarded a plane to Charleston. He hugged us all goodbye, it broke my mother's heart.

We had random phone calls from him throughout September. My mom kept her phone with her at all times. She constantly checked her missed calls even though she knew the phone hadn't rung. By the middle of October, he hadn't called at all. My parents considered flying to Charleston to see what was going on, because he wouldn't answer his phone either. A few days before they were going to buy a ticket, the school called and said he had withdrawn from his courses. Knowing he wouldn't answer for my parents, I called him. He said he was fine, but I could tell he was drunk. It worried me. I called him every day until that spring when he decided he had enough of what he had done.

My parents tried not to speak about him, and they knew I had been talking to him. He came home in June, and things were like they were supposed to be. It was time for me to go to college, and I decided I'd go there. Jasper told me he planned on going back. I thought if I were there, he wouldn't fall back into his habits. He told me the fraternity he was in was a bad influence so I thought he was done.

When Bella told me he told her he was still in it, I was nervous. I didn't think it would be good for him. I had seen him a lot in the last few days and he seemed alright, but school hadn't started it. And I had lots of friends who had gone off to college, and I knew the frat house wasn't going to go without a party sometime this week and I prayed to God Jasper didn't want anything to do with it. And what else that made me nervous was that I didn't have any special want to be in a sorority, and I especially didn't want to be his excuse for staying where he shouldn't. I wondered if I asked Emmett about him what he would tell me. I would feel weird asking him so I figured I'd have to wait to ask Jasper about it.

**JPOV**

I knew the second Rosalie found out I was still in the fraternity I knew I was screwed. That's why I was so freaked out Emmett was talking to her. I really hoped he didn't mention anything. Don't get me wrong, Emmett is a great guy. He parties a lot but he doesn't drink nearly as much I do. I did stop drinking for awhile, I really did. Life just gets to me after awhile and I don't know how to deal. Alcohol doesn't even taste that great. And I realize I'm still underage. I won't be 21 for two more years. The whole thing I told Bella about Rosalie wanting to be in a sorority was pretty much BS. I don't doubt she does though because she's always been the flashy type and this way I had an excuse. My problem wasn't nearly as bad as it once had been though. I can go a day or two without drinking but if you put in front of me, I'm not going to turn it down. That's like asking a two year old if he wants candy.

In between the classes that had started, and trying to keep up with my job, I found myself thinking about Bella. I didn't know her at all except for that one night we talked. I wanted to find her so badly that I almost walked to her dorm one night. She had said something about Rosalie being next door so if I got too embarrassed I could say I knocked on the wrong door. I figured she was too good a person to get mixed up with me. Thinking about this stressed me out, which made me want a drink but I thought maybe if I walked I could withstand it.

I headed up Wentworth Street, going toward Meeting Street purposely bypassing Hyman's. I kept on Meeting Street until I hit Broad Street, taking a right and heading to the Waterfront Park. It was beautiful, looking out onto the river. You could see the boats coming in front the coast and you could see the new(er) bridge they had built. I sat on the swings and swayed. After awhile, I stopped swaying and closed my eyes, trying to sort out my thoughts. That was until a very familiar looking blonde sat next to me. "Thought I'd find you here."

**Thanks for reading, it means a lot! **


	4. Chapter 4

**I own nothing! Thank you again to those who read my story, it means a ton! And a huge thank you to BluezAvarado for beta-ing this! **

**JPOV**

"How? I came here to be alone; I didn't expect to be bombarded by my little sister."

"You're only older by a year. And when you used to call home, you always talked about this place. I was over there, hanging out with some friends and I saw you. I think we need to talk."

_Shit, I knew this was coming._ I sighed, _guess I should have been more prepared_. "Okay…yeah."

"Why didn't you tell me you were still in the fraternity?" She looked straight at me, her hands flying when she said what she needed to say.

"I didn't think it mattered."

"Well, it does. Do you still drink? And don't you dare think about lying to me."

"…For sport, I guess." She huffed and her face turned red.

"Did Emmett tell you?"

"Emmett doesn't have anything to do with this!"

"How did you know then?"

"It doesn't matter! Listen to me!" She yelled, she turned, looking at me and I faced her as well. My little sister was not going to intimidate me over this measly issue. "What can I do to help?"

"Nothing, Rosalie, you don't need to do anything! Honestly, I'm fine." She huffed, leaning away from me. I had _always_ been the stereotypical big brother. When she started kindergarten, I was there watching her walk to class. When I had to leave and go to sixth grade, I was pretty much a wreck. She assured me she would be fine. But now, eight years later, here she was, probably feeling like she was my mom; I knew she had every right to worry. I was messed up. Yeah, I needed help. I knew that, but I wasn't about to ask her for it. I was too prideful for that. She shouldn't have to worry about me like this. "Honestly Rose, don't worry about me."

"Don't worry about you?" Her voice was almost a shriek, and I could tell she was trying to keep it under control, "Yeah, okay, likely… She paused, sighing. She didn't speak for a few seconds, and I could tell she was counting to ten in her mind to calm down. "You're my brother, you need help! How can I _not_ to worry about you? And don't you dare call me Rose. You know I hate that."

"Well, what do you want me to do?" I was getting angry now. I wanted to cool down, and she was ruining that.

"Move to the dorms. Ask to stay off campus."

"I can't ask to stay off campus. One, I'm a freshman, and two, the college will know my problem and they'll kick me out. I know it."

"The college honestly will not kick you out."

"What makes you so sure? And then the administration will know all the frat boys drink."

"I'm sure they know that anyway. You've tried to stop on your own before, it didn't work. Why won't you let me help you? What about mom and dad?"

"Mom and Dad stopped caring a long time ago…" I stopped talking. I didn't have anything else to say.

"You shut them out, Jasper! Answer my question." She was getting frustrated, and I didn't blame her. She deserved answers and even though I was putting out a great front when I saw her, she knew I wasn't fine. I was probably annoying her to death. It wasn't my fault I had this problem, and it wasn't my fault I didn't know how to get rid of it.

"I only drink occasionally, Rosalie." Both she and I knew this wasn't true, but I had homework do and I didn't feel like lying to my sister anymore.

I knew that everything she was saying was true, and I didn't think I could listen to her much more because of it. It was breaking my heart, the walk that was supposed to un-stress me, was making me feel worse. "I'm gonna go now. I love you, and I promise… I'm fine." I kissed her cheek and stood up, looking at her miffed expression. It hurt me to see I was the one she was mad at. "Okay. Bye Jasper."

I had barely gotten inside the door of my house before someone was shoving a red Solo cup into my hand and screaming something about a party getting started.

**BPOV:**

The restaurant was dead, and my boss told me it was fine if I sat down inside the bar. It wasn't exactly late, but the dinner rush had gone through and everyone seemed to be finishing their meals. The girl that was working at the bar looked over. I looked down; it was one of those awkward eye contact moments everyone hated. She waltzed over and looked at me. She looked like she was sizing me up, but not in a mean way. "You haven't worked here long, have you?" Short and to the point (quite literally, she was very tiny and her hair was short and kind of pointy).

"No, I haven't, I've only been here for about a week."

"I thought so, I hadn't seen you before. Are you a college student?"

"Yep."

"English major?"

"Yes, I am…how did you know?" I let the strand of hair I was twirling fall, I guess my face portrayed my shock because she laughed.

"Lucky guess." She winked and while her guessing I was an English major was unusual, I didn't feel uneasy.

"Are you a college student, too?"

"Mhm," she hummed. "I'm a junior."

"How fun." A couple had just walked in the door and I stood up, greeting them. I showed them to a table upstairs, being very careful not to trip on the wooden staircase. I made my way back down to the bar, where the bartender was chatting it up with a dark haired someone. After a while, he got up and left and she wandered back down to where I was sitting. I was exhausted, and it was only Tuesday. Right now, college life was pretty bleak, and as I worked and went to classes, I began to think about Jasper more and more. I wondered if he had thought about me at all. I was feeling like a sap and I decided to throw myself into a conversation with this coworker of mine.

"What's your name?" I asked her, trying not to sound bored with our conversation.

"Alice," she replied.

"I'm Bella,"

"It's good to meet you Bella, but there's a party of four over there waiting to be seated."

I jumped up, feeling bad that I didn't realize there were people waiting. I apologized, but they didn't seem too angry. I sat them downstairs, hoping their waiter would come faster than I had. Alice invited me out to a party on Friday and I accepted. I wasn't sure what we were doing, but Alice seemed fun and she said I could bring Rosalie if I wanted to. Alice told me she liked to shop a lot, and Rose did too, she was just as talkative as Rosalie was, and I hoped everything would turn out well. When my shift was over, I clocked out and walked home.

**RPOV:**

Emmett had called me Monday night, asking if I wanted to meet him for dinner on Tuesday. I was half way through annotating my book, and if I worked fast, I hoped I could finish it and whatever else I had to do beforehand. I really wanted to see him, but I hoped he wouldn't tell me about Jasper. I wanted to know, but sometimes ignorance is bliss… I wondered if Bella knew about his problem. Whenever I talked about my brother, she looked at me like she was trying to read my mind, but she never pried, and I thought that was sweet.

Tuesday night rolled around and after I had finished everything I needed to, I started getting ready. I wasn't exactly sure where we were going, so I found a blue dress I had brought from home and decided to wear that. He met me in front of the dorms, and we headed off to dinner.

"You look really pretty," he said, slightly blushing.

"Aw, thank you! You don't look half bad yourself."

We turned onto South Market Street, running into State Street and headed to AW Shucks. I hadn't been there before, but he assured me they had wonderful food. We got seated, and he started the conversation.

"How are you settling in?"

"Good, my classes seem like they drag on forever though. What about you?"

"They're good, but I'm starting to regret the party the guys and me had last night."

"On a Monday?" I asked, wondering how the party went.

"Well, it wasn't really a party but we 'celebrated' the start of classes." He laughed. I didn't find it funny. I guess he noticed, because he stopped laughing. "What's the matter? I'm feeling better; I'm not really hung over anymore." It wasn't him I was worried about.

"Did Jasper drink?"

"Wait, how do you know Jasper?"

"He's my brother."

"He's your brother?"

"That's what I just said. Did he drink?" Emmett turned pale, trying to backtrack and figure out what he had said wrong.

"Um, yeah."

"How much?"

"Nothing that you should worry about…"

"Emmett, he said you guys were best friends. You should always worry about how much he drinks." Emmett turned even paler, his face draining of any color. I didn't want to say anything else; I didn't want Jasper to think we were shit talking him on our date. "I don't want him to know we talked about it, okay? But just watch him because he needs to stop."

"I take it there are things I don't know?"

"Yes, and for now, let's leave it that way." I smiled brightly, drank my tea and swiftly changed the subject. He smiled just as brightly back at me, and I felt happy. We laughed so much that I temporarily forgot about my brother. We finished with dinner around 7:30 and he showed me around downtown; the spectacular houses, and the side cobblestone streets. Emmett had this little boy kind of cuteness even though he was so huge. I didn't worry about being bothered late at night, even if he did wear a light green and white stripped button down.

**Thanks for reading, update tomorrow! :D**


	5. Chapter 5

**I own nothing, and thanks for reading! I can't stress how much it really does mean! And a huge thank you to BluezAvarado for beta-ing!**

**JPOV**

On Tuesday morning, I really regretted drinking. My head hurt, I'd felt like throwing up, and I'd wanted to crawl into a hole and never come out. The worst part about it: I wanted more. Beer just wasn't strong enough, but it was probably all I was going to be able to get my hands on until there was another party at our house. It was now Wednesday, and I had to get up eventually, after I had beaten my alarm clock into shutting up, I dragged myself up and out of bed; hopefully a shower would help me wake up.

My first class was just a lecture hall and I went and grabbed some coffee before I headed to class. It was way too freaking early to be up. I sat through the class, in the very back of the room. When class was out, and I was walking back on Wentworth Street, I saw Bella. She was walking up the street, and I wondered if she was looking for me. She _was _on _my _street. She saw me, and her face lit up. I wished she didn't want to know me, well I really didn't know if she wanted to, but in the back of my mind, I hoped she did because she was one of the most beautiful girls I had ever seen. I hadn't talked to her in a week. Yes, I had been counting. God she just seemed like such a good girl. I didn't want to fuck up her life.

It was incredibly bright outside, and I squinted. She reached me first, adjusting her backpack.

"Hi," she said, blushing. I wanted to touch her cheek but I figured that might have turned out a little awkward. "I haven't seen you around lately."

"I've been busy," Yeah, I had been busy doing what: drinking. I sounded like I was blowing her off.

"Ah, okay." She scuffed her feet against the sidewalk. "Well, I guess I better be going then."

"No!" I sounded stupid now. "You don't have to go. I'm not busy right now. Do you want to go do something?" She nodded and I felt glad. I looked down at what I was wearing and wished I could go change. Well, we were only a few houses down from where I lived so I figured what the hell.

"Yeah, that sounds good."

"Okay, do you mind if I go change? I kind of didn't look at what I wore to class this morning and I looked like a wreck, the house is right there." She looked apprehensive but agreed. We walked to my house and I told her she could sit on the couch while I was upstairs. I wanted to invite her upstairs, but I didn't know what she would think of that.

BPOV

I was walking up Wentworth Street, not really knowing where I was going when I saw Jasper. I looked up and smiled. I started talking to him, but he seemed disconnected. I was hurt, because when we had talked before, we really seemed to hit it off. I started to go, but he stopped me. I felt better, but he wanted to change before we did whatever we were going to do.

I sat down in the living room while he went upstairs. In the back of my mind, I wanted to follow him. I wondered what he looked like underneath those t-shirts he wore. I found myself blushing at my thoughts and figured I needed to distract myself. I hadn't been in a frat house before, so I decided to look around. The house was old, but it had been mostly kept up. There were a couple of miss-matched couches in the living room, with some chairs, and there was a flat screened TV on the wall. I could see into someone's bedroom, but I didn't know whose it was. It was dirty and I could see clothes on the floor. Typical, I thought. I could see into the kitchen, but only a table and a fridge. I thought about getting up and exploring but I didn't know if any of the other boys were asleep and if they were, I didn't want to wake them up. I could hear someone moving around upstairs, who I assumed was Jasper. Emmett walked through the front door and I didn't exactly know what to say since I didn't know him.

"Who are you?" he asked, throwing his bag into the room I could see into. I hoped Rosalie hadn't come by here; it didn't look like somewhere she would enjoy.

"I'm Bella."

"Oh! You're the one that was with Rosalie that night."

"Yep, that would be me."

"If you're looking for her, she isn't here. I promise. I dropped her off at her dorm that night and I know it was late but I swear I took her home!" I laughed, this kid was funny.

"I believe you. I'm just waiting on Jasper."

"Wait, were you here all night? Because we didn't see much of him last night and that would explain it…" he cocked an eyebrow at me and I turned pink.

"No! I was at home, doing homework, thank you very much." Emmett laughed a booming, loud laugh that sounded exactly like you would expect from him.

"Well I guess the fact that I didn't get home until late would also explain why I didn't see Jasper."

"Yes, that would," he paused and then said, "Well, it's been good meeting you, Bella, but I'm gonna go crash now."

I smiled and he made his way to his room, kicking a random article of clothing out of the door frame.

Jasper came down the stairs a few minutes later, looking better in a gray t-shirt, that looked older rather than newer, and black shorts. He smiled, running down the stairs and opening the front door, gesturing for me to go first. "Wait. I don't want to bring my backpack around with me. Can I leave it here?"

"Yeah, of course. Come on, follow me." We went up a beautiful wooden staircase, turned left and went into a considerably clean room. The bed was against one wall, and it wasn't made. Text books were scattered across the bed, and of course, there was a considerable amount of clothes on the floor. I set my backpack down beside the bed. I noticed there were red Solo cups on his dresser and the bedside table. I could see cans under his bed, which made me wonder if there was something darker in his past than I had thought.

"Ready?" he asked, propped against his door frame. I nodded, and we went down the stairs. There was an aching feeling in my gut that there was something wrong. We went down Meeting Street, which is something I did daily, we walked through the market, laughing at the silly things that were for sale, and we went into Black Market Minerals, looking at all the glass wind chimes. Eventually we made it to Waterfront Park, which Jasper said was one of his favorite places to be. Although it was only September 3rd, it was hot and humid, but it wasn't very late in the afternoon so the heat wasn't too bad. We found a bench under some trees and sat down.

"I want to know more about you." he said, looking straight at me. I was glad he was interested in me, and I was also glad I had sunglasses on because you could pretty much say I was ogling him. There wasn't much more for me to tell, I had already said everything I had to say earlier when we had talked.

"What else do you want to know?" I asked.

He thought for a minute. "What's your favorite movie?"

"I like Dear John. It's cheesy, I know, but it has a hold over me."

"I haven't seen it. I guess it's a romantic movie?"

"Sort of," I replied and he nodded, "What's yours?"

"Gods and Generals…have you seen it?"

"Is that that really long movie about the Civil War?"

"Yeah, it's like four hours or something."

"What is it about exactly?" I was genuinely interested, I liked history but I was more into the monarchies of England rather than the Old South.

"Stonewall Jackson and his life."

"He got shot by his own troops, right?"

"Yeah, by accident...This is kind of random, but…has Rosalie said anything about me to you?"

"Not anymore than I told you the first time." He seemed relieved, and I felt so out of _the know_. They say ignorance is bliss, but it's also annoying as hell.

**JPOV**

Around two we headed back to campus, I had to go to work and I'm sure she had something else to do than hang around with an alcoholic. "Hey, I just realized I don't have your number." I didn't exactly want to put it in my phone because I was terrified of drunk texting her. She smiled brightly and gave it to me. I gave her mine as well and thought to myself, I had to be sure to leave my phone upstairs whenever we were going to have another party. We stood in the entrance to the dorms and I decided to just go for it. I leaned down fast, barely touching her cheek with my lips. I pulled back, and looked at her face. Even though she still had her sunglasses on, I could see she was red and I loved it. I smiled, well, more like grinned and walked away, waving. What did this poor girl do to get herself involved with a boy like me?

I was halfway down the sidewalk when she yelled. "Hey! Wait, my backpack is at your house!" Oh, shit. She was right.

"I can bring it by later, if that's okay."

She nodded. "Yeah, that's fine! Bye!"

The next night, Emmett was doing homework in the living room on the couch, so I took a seat across from him. He looked up at me, zeroing in on the beer I had in my right hand.

"What?" I asked him, fearing the third degree I was about to encounter.

"We aren't even doing anything, it's just us here. Do you need that? I mean, we do have that party tomorrow…"

"It's just one. I'm not like, drinking the whole 12 pack or anything." _Man, I wish. _"Why are you concerned, anyway?"

"I'm not. Well, I am. I just don't think it's a good idea."

"Oh, you've been talking to Rosalie, haven't you?"

"It isn't like that. She didn't tell me anything."

"Then how do you know? Why are you so concerned all the sudden?"

"Why are you getting so defensive if it isn't a big deal?"

"Because apparently my sister is going around saying stuff to you that isn't true! I'm your best friend; you should know you can trust me!"

"I do trust you. I'm just looking out for you. And Rosalie didn't tell me anything, she just heard about our get together on Monday and was worried about you."

"So she asked you to babysit?"

"No. You're taking this way too seriously."

"I don't enjoy being talked about behind my back."

"We weren't talking about you behind your back!"

"Whatever," I said, feeling really angry. What gave Rosalie the right to speak to _my _friends about what I did before I even got to college? My problem really had gotten significantly worse over the summer and now that school was starting it was getting even worse. Rosalie obviously knew that and I wasn't pleased she was making Emmett babysit me. I counted to ten in my head, just as Rosalie had a few nights ago. I didn't want to lose the friendship of Emmett. He looked at me seriously, and I started counting again.

"Seriously though, tell me, how many have you had recently?"

Here it goes, I thought, my excellent lying skills. "This is my first one since Monday!" That was most certainly a lie. I had had a couple on Tuesday; a few after I got off work on Wednesday and one when I woke up this morning. "Seriously, don't babysit me. I don't need to be looked after." Emmett looked like he didn't believe me, but he didn't press the issue any further, for which I was glad. I changed the subject before he could question me any further.

"How many people are coming tomorrow?"

"I don't know, one of the sororities, I think."

"Is Rosalie coming?"

"I asked her and she said she has plans with Bella and someone named Alice. Rosalie did say that they were going to a party, and I got to think about it and there's a girl named Alice in one of the sororities…"

"Wait, so that means Bella is coming."

"I don't know, maybe. Don't get your hopes up." I felt excited, but my heart sank at the same time. I stood up and told Emmett I was going upstairs. When I was half way up the stairs, I heard Emmett dialing his phone, talking to someone he called 'baby' and I could only assume it was my sister. I heard a "he said that…" before I quickly shut my door.

**And I had read somewhere where Jackson Rathbone was related to Stonewall Jackson somewhere in his family tree so it only seemed fitting, hah and that was about the only Civil War movie I could think of besides Cold Mountain. **

**I hope I'm not posting chapters for nothing, I hope y'all are still reading! Thanks for reading!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Thanks for reading! This chapter is a bit long, so I hope you enjoy! Thanks to BluezAvarado for beta-ing, again!**

**BPOV**

Thursday went by faster than I hoped it would. I wasn't exactly dreading this "girls night out," as Alice had called it, but I wasn't too excited about it either. I wasn't much into the social scene, but this was college and I guessed I needed to start getting out more. I had said my life was falling into a rut, and I realized I wanted excitement, so here it was, staring me in the face. Luckily I didn't have to work Thursday or Friday night so I had finished the homework I had been assigned.

Rosalie and I had gotten closer; she was slowly becoming my best friend. She kept me updated on Emmett, who I enjoyed hearing about. On Friday afternoon, she came over to my dorm to get ready.

"Bella, You don't look excited! Why aren't you excited?" She frowned at me, her hands on her hips.

"I'm excited." I said flatly, spinning around in my desk chair.

"This is what college is all about! I mean, ask Asher Roth or Sam Adams, they seem to know." I nodded, I had no clue who either one of those people were. I guess she understood because she didn't mention them again. I really needed to move into the 21st century.

Rosalie wore a long sleeved, white button down shirt with black skinny jeans and heels. I envied her; she didn't have to try to look beautiful, she just was. Her hair always seemed to be in ringlets, even when she wore it up and took it down. "What are you wearing tonight, Bella?" she asked. I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came to mind.

"I don't have any idea. You can go look in my closet if you want." I almost regretted that statement; the moment she looked in my closet, Rosalie walked and looked into my closet, going through article of clothing after another. She threw the one white v neck t-shirt I had hanging up onto the bed and found a dark pair of jeans and put them on the bed, too. "You need something else." she stated, heading back into the closet to search for some needed accessory. I sat in my computer chair, hoping it wasn't going to be something too ridiculous. She pulled a black mini-vest I had sort of hidden. "I think this will do, and since Labor Day isn't until Monday, here, wear these shoes." She put my ivory colored converse at the end of my bed. She smiled, evidently pleased with her style choices. "Well, go on. Get dressed; it's almost time to go meet Alice." She looked in my mirror, adjusting her hair.

I took off the shorts and t-shirt I was wearing and put on the ensemble Rosalie had picked out, and then we headed out the door. We turned right onto Coming Street and met Alice in front of her house. Her house was a beautiful teal color, with large Greek letters on the front balcony. Rosalie looked a bit envious as she stared (or gazed) up at the house. Alice was a lot bubblier than she was at work; it made her personality even more enjoyable. She had on a white t shirt with a black, high–waisted skirt. It was a gorgeous skirt, and it made her look taller than she was.

"Hi guys!" Alice said, smiling at all of us.

"Hey Alice, this is Rosalie. Rosalie, this is Alice."

"Hi Alice," Rosalie said, "What exactly are we doing tonight?" Rosalie looked around at her surroundings and at the other girls filing out of the large house. They smiled at Rosalie, and she smiled back. For some reason though, she didn't look truly interested.

"We're heading to a party up on Wentworth Street."

"How fun, a party! I love parties." Rosalie said, clapping her hands together. I was confused because she didn't look interested at first, but now she was starting to warm up; I gave a sarcastic thumbs up.

"Come on Bella, it'll be fun." As much as I doubted that, I put a smile on my face, I didn't want to ruin their fun. We started walking, we weren't the only ones, there were a ton of people on the road, yelling and laughing. I started enjoying myself more, especially when I realized Rosalie and Alice were getting along so well. We turned onto Wentworth Street and I butted into their conversation.

"Hey, I was here the other day."

"For what?"

"When I spent the afternoon with Jasper, I left my backpack in his room while we were gone."

"What house is he in?" Alice asked, adjusting her skirt as we walked.

"Um, Kappa Sigma, I think."

"That's ironic, because that's where the party is tonight." Rosalie stopped walking.

"What's the matter?" I asked, turning around, wondering if she had forgotten something.

"My foot slipped out of my shoe." She leaned down to fix her shoe, but it didn't make any sense because her shoe had a strap. "They're a little big." She said, laughing as she regained her composure and joined us back. Alice didn't seem to notice there was anything wrong.

"Oh, I hate that!" she said, throwing her hands in the air. "It's awful!"

We reached the house; we could hear the music from outside. "Hey, Alice, do you mind going on in? I've got to ask Bella something." Rosalie stayed at the bottom of the stairs, and I stepped back down to where she was.

"Sure, no problem, I'll be right inside."

"Rosalie, what's the matter?" I asked, genuinely concerned.

"There isn't really anything wrong, but if you see Jasper tonight, which I'm sure you will, can you just count how many drinks he's had?" I found this to be an odd request, but she seemed so shaken, I felt that I had to agree. "Sure, anything else?"

"No, I think that's it, just don't be noticeable, please." I smiled, but walked into the house with a familiar feeling that something was wrong.

**JPOV**

YES. It was Friday, which meant that there was a party tonight, and Emmett had actually cleaned his room, _that_ meant it was going to be big. A big party usually meant that Rosalie was invited. _Damn. _I went into our kitchen, which had actually been cleaned as well. I wasn't surprised though; Emmett was a compulsive cleaner when he knew we actually had respectable company coming over.

I wasn't sure what to wear; if Rosalie was coming, if Bella was coming, I didn't want to look gross. I sounded stupid worrying about what I was going to wear but I didn't want Bella to think badly of me. Besides, she knew my sister; I didn't want to give Rosalie a bad image, so I decided I was going to try and abstain from drinking. This night was going to turn out _fine, _but my hope didn't last long because by the time people started getting here, I had already drank four beers. Emmett watched me closer than he had ever had and it made me mad. I even wasn't drunk, at least, not in my opinion.

It was getting pretty late and I wondered when Bella was going to get here, or if she was even coming at all. She didn't seem like a partier to me, but you can't blame a guy for hoping. I walked by the front door, and noticed Rosalie out on the front porch, talking to Bella. I wondered why they hadn't come inside yet, and then it hit me, she must have been talking about me. _There goes my chance, _I thought. I waited in the door frame for Rosalie to look up. She did eventually, smiling.

"Hi, brother," she said, bounding up the stairs. I was still mad at her for talking to Emmett about me. I know she was my sister, and she was probably worried about me, but in my opinion nothing made that right. I was a big boy though, and I knew a frat party was _not _the place to make a scene, so I decided to act like nothing was wrong and go with the flow. Then I realized I probably smelled like alcohol.

"Hi, sister," I said. She bumped me on the way in the door, but I didn't budge. Bella looked up at me and I smiled. She didn't run up the stairs like Rosalie had, I figured she wasn't as graceful.

"Hi," I said, "How are you?"

"I'm good." She responded. I noticed she looked kind of uncomfortable in the outfit she was wearing. She looked nice, beautiful really. I couldn't read minds, but I was usually pretty good at sensing emotions; Bella she seemed edgy. "Are you nervous?"

"A little," she admitted, looking up at me. "I'm not much of a party person." She scrunched up her face, showing her distaste. God, she was just _so cute._

"It'll be okay," I said, letting her walk in front of me, I put my hand on the small of her back and leaned in close, so that my lips were touching her ear. "I promise." I could almost feel her blushing and I loved every second of it.

Since Bella was here, I doubted I would be able to drink anything near as heavy as I would have liked, so I grabbed a beer out of the cooler before she and I found a semi quiet spot in our den while the others were somewhere else in the house. I didn't want her to see my problem, although she probably knew I had one. I searched her face while I drank my beer to see if she had any thoughts about the situation, but I couldn't tell. I wondered if she would ever ask about my problem or if she would just watch me, like Emmett had been. I hated being watched more than anything; I wasn't four. I was content to just sit there with her for hours; it made it easier to set the beer aside.

"Hey, do you mind if we go dance? I came to Charleston to get the full college experience, and I want to be outgoing. I'm not interested in getting drunk or anything," she didn't stop talking, but I quit listening for a second, trying to think if she threw that part in there because she knew something was up. "I just think that we've been gone for so long people are going to think we were doing something we weren't!"

She covered her face with her hands; she seemed mortified at that thought. There was her cuteness again. I would dance with her if she wanted. Hell, I would climb Mount Everest for her if she wanted and I hadn't even known her for that long, but when I was near her, I felt better. _No, you don't, _the voice inside my head denied. _Wait, was I going insane?_

I stood up, silently, going over to where she was sitting, obviously not wanting to look at me. I took her hands away from her face, smiling as I did so. I didn't let her hands go.

"Bella, this is college, I don't think people really care what we do." Her eyes got wide and she blushed again.

"I guess you're right…"

"But darlin', if you want to dance, then we'll do just that,"

**RPOV**

I was having the time of my life, getting to know people and dancing with Emmett. Alright, that's a lie, while I was a social butterfly; I wasn't enjoying the majority of the people at this party. 90% of them were drunk, but my mind kept straying back to Jasper. I looked around the room for him, but didn't see him. Then again, I didn't see Bella either, so I figured they were together somewhere.

After awhile I saw them come out of the den, just the two of them, Jas didn't look too drunk, and Bella didn't look drunk at all. I hoped that Bella was just what Jasper needed. I knew that was a dumb idea, and I knew she wouldn't stop his drinking forever, but he hadn't (at least, not to my knowledge) drank anything too heavy tonight. They danced in the corner for a couple songs; the look on Jasper's face made me smile. He hadn't looked that happy in forever. It was weird to see my brother with a girl who just so happened to be one of my friends, but I guess it must have been odd to see me, his sister, with his best friend as well. When Bella left to go get something to drink from the kitchen, I followed her; I wanted to ask her a few things.

"Hello there. You've been absent for awhile."

"I was talking to your brother." She laughed.

"Is he behaving himself?"

"He seems to be, he's only had one drink since I've been with him." We must have gotten carried away in talking because when we decided to go back, Emmett came into the kitchen, looking for me. He looked nervous.

"There you are. I've been looking for you. Have you seen Jasper?" He drummed his fingers on the counter.

"Not in the last few minutes. Wait, how long have we been in here?"

"About half an hour or something, I don't know, I lost count, trying to keep Jasper away from the alcohol, but I didn't do such a good job. I went upstairs to make sure no one was passed out on the floor, and then I came downstairs to make sure no one was having sex in my bed, and then I went into the living room. I found him playing sixes."

"Is he really drunk?" Rosalie turned toward Emmett, pushing her hair out of her face.

"Yeah, pretty much. I'm sorry, Rosalie." He said, and I looked around the kitchen.

I wracked my brain for options and I couldn't come up with any. We couldn't put him in his room, he did live here, and he was part of this party, and I couldn't argue with him; he wasn't four, and we couldn't always babysit. I sighed, feeling as if I was about to cry. Emmett put his hand on my shoulder, I shook it off. I was_ not_ going to cry, I was_ not _going to cry...I was going to be strong.

**Next chapter should be a little bit more dramatic, thanks so much for reading! Reviews are nice, too!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Thank you again to all those who reviewed, they meant so so so much! Sorry for the slight delay... it was a busy day. And this is in honor of my mom and I seeing Eclipse for the second time today, all I did was stare at Jackson's mouth...anyway... I don't own anything, with the exception of John. On with the story!  
**

**BPOV**

So _that_ was it, Jasper drank… a lot. I felt my stomach sinking. I didn't know exactly what to do, because he didn't seem to drink when I was around, but then again, I hadn't been around him that much. Rosalie gave me a sad look.

"I'm sorry. I guess we should have told you," she said. She didn't need to apologize for something that wasn't even her fault. I wasn't mad, I just felt bad for Jasper, and Rosalie too. I guess this is why she always avoided talking about him with me. Even though this wasn't any of my business, I felt like I needed to help, I just wasn't sure what I could do.

"It's alright," I told her, "we can always work something out." She nodded.

"I know I'm not family or anything, but let me know what I can do to help, okay?" She looked up and me, but she didn't say anything. Emmett was at the end of the counter, looking at us.

"I'm in this too, don't forget about me!" He looked just as concerned as Rosalie and, for some reason, I started laughing. This was an awful situation, but Emmett just sounded so silly.

I noticed that it was getting really late because the party was starting to wind down. Some guys, who I guessed were Jasper's frat brothers, sat him on the couch. I went first, and Rosalie followed.

**JPOV**

I knew I shouldn't have done it, but the alcohol had been calling my name. I sat with a couple of friends while I waited for Bella to come back. She must have gotten caught up with Rosalie, which wasn't unusual. While I waited, the guys started playing sixes. I leaned back on the couch trying to concentrate on the music instead of the die. John, a fellow house mate, invited me to join. I should have said no, but I'd already had a couple beers in me from earlier, so I figured I could take it. I ended up drunk off my ass. John congratulated me, laughing, and, as he handed me another drink, I found myself laughing along with him.

Even though I could barely remember what my name was, when Bella sat down in front of me, I couldn't help but smile. She seemed worried though. Rosalie was behind her, trying to get people to leave the room. One of the last things I remember was being carried me up to my room. I closed my eyes and acted like I was asleep, waiting until they left so I could sneak another drink. I had some vodka hidden in the top of my closet, saving it for emergencies like this.

If I focused hard enough, I would hear them talking outside of my room.

"I'll stay up here tonight, there's a bedroom over there," Emmett pointed, "I'll make sure he doesn't do anything stupid." I huffed. I was 19 years old! I didn't need to have someone guarding my door. I went to go get up to tell them I was fine, I made it half way to the door before I vomited. When they opened the door, I couldn't bring myself to look them in the eyes. There isn't really anything you can say to glamorize standing in a puddle of your own vomit. If I wasn't so drunk, I would have been really worried about what Bella thought, and if I had been sober, the look in her eyes when she saw at me would have made me cringe at the thought of ever drinking again.

Bella walked in my room, stepping over the vomit as I wiped my mouth on the back of my arm. She stood in front of me, one eye brow arched and a frown upon her face. "Are you going to throw up again?" she asked. I shook my head no, but I could tell that she didn't believe me, "I think it's a good idea if you go sit in the bathroom for awhile."

When I started gagging, she led me to the bathroom, following Emmett's directions. I sat, no, more like collapsed in front of the toilet. She looked at me for a second and turned around and walked out. If I hadn't been so preoccupied, I would have gotten mad she left. She returned thirty seconds later, with a washcloth that she dampened and put it on the back of my neck. "Do you need anything else?" She asked, sitting down on the sink. I shook my head no. The room began spinning and I leaned over the toilet and retched.

After I had recovered, I found the strength to speak. "You don't need to sit here. Emmett can, I'm sure it's gross." She nodded but she didn't move. I really wanted her to go. I wanted to wallow in my own pity. "Bella, just go," She was being so nice to me, and I was being so mean. She was just trying to help, but I didn't want any help... I didn't need any.

"I understand, you're getting irritated," she said, coming down on her knees so we were eye level. "Look at it like this, you have two options: you can either puke all night by yourself, pass out on the floor, and wake up feeling worse than you already do, or you can let me stay by your side so that, if you do pass out, we'll be able to get you out of here and into a nice bed. It's your choice, Jasper."

I stared at her, trying to intimidate her to leave. She _did_ move, but it was only to get down off the sink and sit on the edge of the bathtub. I wasn't sure why she was still here. I was going to make some really smartass comment, but I threw up instead. She wet the rag again and told me she'd be back in just a minute. I didn't say anything, but she studied me for a second to make sure I was okay and then walked out. She must have only been gone for a couple minutes, but I fell asleep before she came back.

**RPOV**

This isn't how I wanted to spend my first college party, especially with Emmett. I didn't see Jasper puke all over his floor, but I didn't want to. Emmett went downstairs to get a bucket and some Windex I wasn't going to clean it up, I couldn't. I would end up hurling too, and then it hit me; he had to have other bottles hiding somewhere, and I was determined to find them. I went around his room, looking in hidden spots for the alcohol. Halfway through my search, a tall, awkward looking skinny kid with curly hair walked in. I immediately shot him a dirty look.

"Yes?" I asked, sounding not as nice as I looked.

"Why are you going through Jasper's room?" he asked, looking suspicious.

"As far as I'm concerned, it's not really any of your business, is it?" I replied, looking under Jasper's pillows.

"Well since he's a friend of mine and there's a strange girl creeping around his bedroom, I think I'll make it my business. And why is there puke all over his floor?"

"Because he's drunk off his ass and I'm his sister, so I have a right to look around." Emmett came in, carrying paper towels, rubber gloves, a bucket and Windex. He looked oddly domestic, cleaning the original wooden floors.

"Emmett! Have you seen Jasper? He's like, passed out in the bathroom. That kid can drink more than anyone in the house, he'd put us all to shame!" John said, turning to Emmett and laughing heartily.

"Yeah, John, we'll talk about it later, it's probably best if you go back to your room now."

"Why is everyone being so damn defensive? And she," he said, pointing toward me, "is going through his room. Do you know about this?"

"Yeah, I do. And _her _name is Rosalie, and she can look around this whole house if she wants to. So just go back downstairs."

"What are you looking for?" Emmett asked, sitting down on the floor and putting the gloves on.

"I'm looking to see if he's hidden any bottles of alcohol up here." Emmett nodded, concentrating on the task at hand, while I opened Jasper's closet. On the very top shelf, there was a bottle of whiskey that hadn't been opened yet, and a half empty bottle of Vodka. I put them in front of Emmett and he looked up at me. "If I would have known…"

"Emmett," I said, sitting down across from him. "You really can't start thinking like that. Jasper does this on his own accord. My parents thought like that and it tore them apart."

Emmett looked so guilty. "But I would have stopped him!"

"There isn't anything you can do for him. He's got to hit rock bottom on his own."

Emmett had finished cleaning and he looked at me, throwing everything into the bucket. "There isn't anything we can do?"

"Keep him away from alcohol, but that's all. He's right; we can't force him to do anything." We sat and looked at each other for a minute, and Emmett got up and washed his hands. I took the bottles downstairs, and poured them into the sink. Emmett and I walked back upstairs, where Bella met us.

"He passed out," she said, pulling her hair up into a ponytail.

"Literally?" I asked, my eyes widening.

"No, not literally," she said, "he fell asleep. I think he's done throwing up, but I wouldn't count on it. Someone probably needs to stay with him."

**BPOV**

Rosalie went into Jasper's bedroom to get his bed ready while Emmett waited outside the bathroom door, looking in on Jasper. I went into the bathroom, brushing the damp hair off his forehead. He opened his eyes and looked up at me with a half smile on his face. I wasn't sure if he knew where he was, but he definitely wasn't coherent. Emmett came in, picked him up off the floor and carried Jasper into his room.

When Jasper was tucked in, Emmett, Rosalie, and I made our way down the stairs and into the living room. The house was a wreck. Almost immediately, Emmett started picking up cups and throwing them into a trash bag.

"What time is it?" I asked.

"It's about 3:45." Emmett answered, taking the trash with him into the kitchen.

"Thanks for taking care of him," Rosalie said, hugging herself. "I don't think I could have done it."

"It's okay. My mom's gotten drunk a few times in my life, so I've learned what the best thing to do is." She looked at me, and I could tell she was grateful. I hoped he would be fine, and I wanted to know why Rosalie didn't tell me about his problem. "I need to ask you something." I said. I turned and looked at her as best I could in the dim light of the living room.

"What is it?" She asked, adjusting herself in the large brown chair. She sounded completely exhausted and I felt bad for asking, but I wanted to know.

"Why didn't you tell me he had a problem?" She didn't hesitate to answer.

"I hoped he was better, and it was my way of trying to keep it hidden. I could tell you sensed something was wrong, because you always tried to read my face when I would talk about Jasper. I want to thank you for not prying, it means a lot. I'm sorry you had to find out like this. I know you two had something going." She looked solemn and I didn't know what to say.

"It doesn't make any difference to me. Well, it does, it makes me want him to get help, but if you're thinking I'm just going to run off, I'm not." I guess Rosalie had run out of things to say because she just smiled. It was late and we didn't want to walk home, so Emmett agreed to stay in his room, and that I could have the extra bedroom upstairs. Rosalie decided sleep in the chair that was in Jasper's room, so that she could watch over him.

The three of us sat in the living room for awhile. We didn't say much, we just enjoyed the company. We agreed it would be best to talk to a substance abuse counselor if he didn't get any better. It was the only way he would ever make any progress.

Around 5, Emmett went into his room and bringing Rosalie a pair of his basketball shorts and a t-shirt to sleep in. She cringed at how large they were, but it beat jeans and a button up. He offered me clothes as well but I declined. Emmett kissed Rosalie on the cheek before he went into his room for the night, and Rosalie and I headed upstairs.

"It's been a long night. Goodnight, Bella." She went into Jasper's room, and I went into the extra bedroom. I lay down in the bed, trying to find a spot to fall asleep. About 30 minutes after I had finally gotten comfortable, the door opened.

"Bella," Rosalie called. Her voice was louder than a whisper, but she wasn't speaking normally. "I'm sorry if you were asleep, but Jasper's asking for you to stay in there instead of me."

**Thank you for reading! I hope this chapter was good. Reviews are wonderful. Also, I'm having a bit of writer's block, so if anyone has any suggestions on where to take the story, please feel free to let me know! **


	8. Chapter 8

**I own nothing! Sorry I didn't post this yesterday, it was such a hectic day! I left my house at 11:30 AM and didn't return until 8! I did see The Last Airbender though...Anyway, I forgot to mention thanks to BluezAvarado for looking over my story, so many thanks to her. And thanks so, so, so much to the ones who review and put my story on alert. **

**PS- I hope I'll update tomorrow sometime but I really have writer's block so bad that nothing is coming to my mind. This chapter isn't one of the better ones, but I had to update... so on with the story!**

**JPOV**

I awoke at a quarter to 5 with a splitting headache. I couldn't remember how I had gotten into my bed, but I was thankful to not have woken up on a bathroom floor. I _did_ remember Bella taking me into the bathroom and staying with me, though. I remember trying to get her to leave and failing. I think that's when I started falling in love with her, but to be honest, I'm not sure.

I was able to get up and wander into the bathroom to get Tylenol. I could hear Rosalie and Bella talking downstairs, and assumed Emmett was the one clanking around in the kitchen. I brushed my teeth while I was up; I hated the feeling of the fuzziness on my teeth. When I stumbled back into my room, I flopped down onto the bed. I kicked off my jeans and pulled my shirt over my head before tucking in and pulling the comforter up to my neck.

Even though my eyelids drooped, I tossed and turned for awhile, and couldn't get to sleep. A little bit after five, my door opened and Rosalie sat down in the chair I had in the corner. She reclined as I turned over to look at her.

"Why are you in here?" I asked. I was extremely irritated.

"I'm just staying in case you need something." She sounded exhausted and it made me all the more annoyed. She should have gone home a long time ago, she didn't need to be sleeping in my recliner in the corner of my room; watching me, like I was an infant.

"You don't need to stay in here. I'm not going to need anything. Go back downstairs and talk with Emmett." I could hear her sigh.

"You're just trying to be mean and I'm not going to take it personally. I'm going to sleep, and you should too. You gave us all a heart attack tonight. I'm surprised Bella is even here."

"Bella's still here?" I turned on my side, trying to search her out in the dark. I could only make out her teeth and hair.

"She's in the other room. She took care of you all night, but you probably can't even remember that." She spat, sitting up. "You just couldn't keep away, could you?"

"I don't do this on purpose, Rosalie!" I sat up way too fast. If I was going to have to fight with her, I would because she was blaming everything on me. I laid my head back down, putting my pillow over my head.

"So it just happens by accident!" She stood up, and I could see her clothes were huge. She threw her hands in the air. "I'm not going to argue with you when you're completely fucked up! This is ridiculous! I don't know how Bella put up with you tonight because I can't even sit here for 10 minutes with you!" The Tylenol wasn't helping my head and neither was Rosalie. I loved her more than my own self, but she just couldn't mind her own business. She talked about my problem like she knew what I was going through. I wanted to tell her all about it, I wanted to tell her what it was like to be an addict. I hated calling myself that. It sounded like I was addicted to heroin or something. I was in so deep I didn't know what to do anymore. I felt Rosalie sit down on my bed. She touched my shoulder and I took the pillow off my head. "What?" I grumbled. "Can't you see I'm trying to sleep?" I could see she was crying and I felt so bad for causing all of this.

"I'm sorry. I know you don't do it on purpose. All I want is for you to get better." She said softly. I sat up, very slowly this time. "Why won't you just let me help you? I mean I know I'm no interventionist but I can find someone to help you!"

I didn't have anything else to say, I just looked at her. She reached out to hug me and I let her hug me. "I'm not going to push you anymore." She said, wiping the tears from her face.

"So Bella's still here?" I asked, lying back down.

"She's in the room across the hall."

**RPOV**

I told Jasper I wouldn't push him anymore, and I was going to do my best to keep that promise. I did notice something though; Jasper was oddly alert whenever Bella was mentioned. I had known him my whole life and she had only known him a week or two, but still, he opened up to her like he'd never done to me. I was glad though, he needed someone to look to. Tonight my worst fear was realized; he wasn't okay, and I wasn't sure how deep he'd dug himself in. It proved to me he wasn't as grown up as I'd thought. He couldn't say no to a drink. I knew he didn't do it on purpose, but he needed to have more restraint.

"I'm going to go get Bella because I can't stand to see you like this." I stood up, walking to the door. He was partially coherent, but I knew he wouldn't remember this in the morning.

"No, don't do that. She's probably asleep." If he really didn't want Bella in here, he wasn't doing much to stop me.

**JPOV**

A few minutes after Rosalie got up and walked out, Bella came through my bedroom door. She sat down in the recliner, but she didn't say a word. I felt awkward, like I was 13 again. I watched her for awhile, and the Tylenol finally kicked in. If she was playing possum, she was doing a fantastic job. 6 o'clock approached and my room took on a blue tint. It was my favorite time. The blue reminded me of the ocean, like my room was endless. It only lasted a few minutes, I was rarely awake to see it, and if I caught it in the evening, I was usually trying to get homework done.

"You can stop watching me." She said, I could tell she was amused. "I've been waiting on you to talk for the last 45 minutes. You're an awful spy."

"You've been awake all this time and you haven't said anything?" I asked, stunned. I was feeling better for some reason. It could have been the blueness of my room, the aura Bella was putting off, or just the Tylenol but I wasn't quite sure.

"I was just thinking, besides, I figured your head hurt like crap so I didn't want to say anything."

"Thinking?" I asked, "Thinking about what?"

"Just life," she replied. "My mom, dad, and Phil, how I have to work tomorrow, well, actually today, how gross I probably look right now, how your head is feeling…things like that."

"Oh," I replied. "I see. Well, my head feels a bit better actually. And you don't look gross. I don't think you could ever look gross."

"You still must be drunk." She said, turning over in the chair. "At least it's getting light outside, I can go home and get some sleep."

"You can get sleep here. You don't have to go home." I said quickly, my words running together.

"It's only a couple of blocks. I've been up for 24 hours; I don't think another four blocks is going to kill me."

I was getting desperate. I really wanted her to stay. We had had a perfectly good evening to spend with each other and I had completely ruined it. It was entirely my fault. I just wanted to make amends. I know she wanted to sleep but the only way I could see to get her to stay was to keep talking.

"What did Rosalie tell you to get you to come in here?"

"She didn't tell me anything. She just said that you were asking for me and I didn't even question it. I just got up and came in here."

"Why?" I asked, curiously. If the roles would have been reversed, I would have done the same. I just wanted to hear her say it.

"I thought maybe you needed me." She said it very quietly. I had to strain to hear her, but I did nonetheless.

"I do," I said. "I know we haven't known each other very long at all, but I do." My room was getting lighter and lighter, the blue fading into light gray. Every moment that passed, I could see her more clearly. Her hair was up in a messy bun and she had taken her vest off. She was lying on her back in the chair, with her legs crossed at the ankles. "I'm so sorry for tonight." I said, sincerely. Was I going to try and fix my problem? That was between God and me.

"You didn't choose to have this problem." She said, very flatly.

"You must be exhausted, Bella, and I know that chair isn't very comfortable. You can sleep here, if you want. I promise I won't try anything. I sleep against the wall, I promise." I felt stupid for asking her if she wanted to sleep in my bed after I had thrown up in front of her all night and I had only known her a week or two but I felt like I had known her forever.

"I'm fine," she said.

"I insist. I'm not asking you to spend all day here, just an hour or two until it's really morning and you can walk home with Rosalie." The room was turning a yellow color and I hated it. Even through the plantation shutters the college had installed, the sun shined through. I heard the recliner foot rest snap down, and I moved over to the wall, keeping my promise. She pulled the blanket I had at the end of the bed up around her, and lay down facing the wall; I was already regretting my decision.

After a few minutes, I heard her breathing slow and I turned over, looking at her. The sun had risen fully, basking my room in a glow of bright orange and yellow. I can really say that I had never seen anyone look more beautiful.

**Thanks for reading! If anyone has any ideas on what I should do with the story, don't hesitate to let me know! Reviews make my life!**


	9. Chapter 9

**I own nothing! Also, I realize that Bella's birthday is September 13th in the books but for some reason I thought it was September 18th when I started writing the story and I just liked it better...sorry if you don't agree with it! There should only be a few more chapters left...I realize it's getting kind of fluffy but in the next few chapters it should get more dramatic, I anticipate about 7-10 chapters more (maybe less)**

**And a huge thanks to BluezAvarado...I always forget to mention thanks, but she has a huge job reading this story!  
**

**Thanks again to those who added my story on alert and reviewed, they seriously make me giddy!  
**

**BPOV**

I woke up in a panic. My left leg was halfway off the bed and the blanket I was covered up with was on the floor. The room I was in was bright; it had that mid afternoon glow to it. I looked around and realized I was in Jasper's room, still in my clothes from last night. Jasper was snoring slightly and it made me suppress a giggle. His blonde curly hair was everywhere and he was lying with his back against the wall. The comforter had slipped down to his hip bones and I blushed. I stood up, silently, walking to the door. The door to the spare room, where Rosalie slept was open so I didn't even look in. The house seemed to be empty so I walked home.

It was almost 1 o'clock and there was a note under my door. _Sorry I went ahead and left. You were sound asleep and I had to be somewhere early. Call me later. Rosalie. _After such a night, being in my room felt like heaven. I loaded up my email; I had three from Renee. She loved the pictures I had sent and wanted to know if I would send more. I felt bad living here, I was her only child and I was so far away. Replying and telling her yes, I checked the other email she had sent me. I answered everything that was necessary, I showered, and I got ready for work. I only worked from 4 to 8 that night; the season was winding down and no one was coming in. Rosalie waited on me while I clocked out and we went and got ice cream.

"Again, thanks for staying with him, last night. I just couldn't do it. He gets irritated with me." Rosalie said, eating the raspberry sherbet off her spoon.

"It wasn't a problem." I said, eating the cookie dough out of my vanilla ice cream. I didn't want to hang on to last night. Rosalie told me she left the house around 10 and she looked in on me to see if I was awake but she found us asleep and didn't want to disturb us. Everyone else in the house was either asleep or gone so she left Emmett a note. "Are you mad that I left?" she asked, continuing to eat her ice cream.

"No, not at all. I just I didn't know where I was when I woke up." She laughed.

"Isn't your birthday coming up?" She asked, sliding her cup across the table.

"No." I lied.

"You're an awful liar, Bella. I know it is."

"Fine, yes, it's September 18th." I admitted, pretending to gag myself with the spoon. I hated my birthday with a passion.

"I'm going to throw you a party!" She said, a little too loudly.

"Absolutely not!" I frowned.

"Can I at least cook you a dinner and invite Emmett and Jasper?" She pouted. "It'll be fun! And low key, nothing spectacular."

I feigned anger. "No!" She saw right through me.

"The night of your birthday, 5 o'clock, be there. Or I'll send Emmett to bring you by force."

I wasn't going to be able to win with her. "Fine, Rosalie. I'll be there, 5 o'clock sharp."

**JPOV**

I woke up when I hit my head against the wall. It was hot as hell in my room and I kicked the comforter completely off. The pillow on the left side of my bed smelled like flowers and I was confused. Then I remembered Bella had spent the night, sort of. Smiling at the memory, I stood up, trying to regain my balance. The house was oddly silent, no stereos were playing and the TV downstairs wasn't on. I made my way into the kitchen where Emmett was going through a very large book. He looked up at me and back down at his book.

"Am I getting the cold shoulder?" I asked, sitting on the counter, squinting my eyes because the kitchen was sunny. I was hungover and I hated it.

"No, I'm just trying to get some studying done." He replied, highlighting a sentence. Opening the fridge, I noticed there was no alcohol of any kind. I knitted my eyebrows together in response, trying to decide if I was happy or not. I had made up my mind, I was going to quit and this time I _was _going to do it on my own.

"Bella left about two hours ago." Emmett said, flipping another page and looking up at me. "I noticed. Did she say bye to you or anything?" I questioned.

"I was out getting some groceries so no. But Rosalie left even before Bella did." He replied, closing the book.

I didn't want to think about last night, when I did, it made my head hurt even worse. I couldn't remember much of anything besides seeing Bella. I don't remember having a conversation with her, I don't even remember when she came in, but I could remember falling asleep with her by my side.

**BPOV**

The next few weeks went by uneventfully. Rosalie, Emmett, Jasper and I celebrated my birthday at the frat house. It was a quiet night, which was perfect considering the fact that I didn't want a party anyway. Rosalie cooked dinner for us and it was really delicious. Jasper drank water which we didn't say anything about but we were all secretly jumping for joy. After dinner, we moved into the living room where we opened presents. I sat in the chair while everyone else sat on the couch. I opened Emmett's present first which was a gift card to Walden Books. I had just finished _Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, _so it was time for me to buy a new book. Rosalie gave me a beautiful silver ring with a pearl at the top. I had seen it one day with her at the market. I was so glad to have friends like these.

I smiled all evening. After a while, Rosalie and Emmett left for some type of tour. Jasper and I went into the den to find a movie. I wanted to watch _Inglourious Basterds_, but he told me I wouldn't like it. I tried to argue but he wouldn't budge. We eventually settled on _Pan's Labyrinth_, it was one of my favorites and he had never seen it. I gave him a brief rundown and he looked skeptical but agreed to try it. Jasper and I went up to his room to watch it; his housemates wouldn't leave us alone if we were downstairs. We settled in on his bed and started the movie. He didn't realize the movie was in Spanish and had a mini freak out session over it. We finished the movie, he ended up loving it.

He moved to the center of the bed, sitting Indian style. I sat with my back against his headboard. "Why are you named Isabella?" He asked, I thought it was random, but I guess he was curious.

"My mom and dad had been trying to have me for a long time and they were having problems. To take her mind off things, she did some family tree research and one of my relatives from a long time ago was named Isabella. A few weeks after she looked it up, she got pregnant with me. Why are you named Jasper? It seems like an odd name to me." I smiled, and he laughed.

"I've heard that all my life. It's my great-great-great grandfather's name and it's my father's middle name."

"I like it though. I think it's unique. I haven't ever heard it before."

"Thanks. Hey, I didn't give you your present." He said, reaching his under his bed to pull something out.

"You didn't have to get me anything."

"Yes, I did. Emmett and Rosalie got you something. This isn't much, I wanted to get you something more but you seem like you don't like it when people buy you expensive things." He handed me a bag, which was tied with ribbon. "I promise I didn't decorate it. Rosalie did it." I smiled, pulling the knot out of the red and white ribbon. I pulled out something kind of large, also wrapped in red and white tissue paper. I ripped opened the paper, awing at what I was holding. It was a teal, white and light green dream catcher. The middle looked like an intricate spider web that faded from the white, to the green to the teal. There were three little circles attached to the larger one, with blue feathers hanging from it. It was the most beautiful dream catcher I had ever seen. I always had one when I was smaller but I didn't have one to bring to college. I looked up and he was looking at me nervously.

"I hope you like it," he said, "I picked it out especially for you. I saw it and thought 'this is Bella!'"

"I love it. I'll hang it right beside my bed. It's beautiful, thank you so much." I leaned over, kissing his cheek. He blushed, a cute shade of red coloring his face, and I could feel my cheeks heat up as well. We sat in silence for a minute. "You know," he started, "I haven't drank in almost four weeks. That's a personal best for the last six months." I was elated, I know it wasn't a long time at all, but it seemed so long for him. I was proud. Emmett had told me that he wouldn't allow alcohol in the house, and if one of the other guys wanted to drink they could go to another house or take it outside.

"That's absolutely wonderful!" I stated, hugging him. He looked happy. We hugged for a bit longer than we usually did and I was in an awkward position. He was still sitting Indian style, and my knees dragged up. He held me up by my back and I smiled against his neck. He pulled back, touching my cheek and looking at me. His eyes were the faintest shade of gray; I noticed that on the first day we met. They were brighter now; he was smiling along with me. He leaned in closer and I could feel his breath upon my face. "Happy Birthday, Bella." I closed the space between us, and he molded his lips with mine.

My first kiss had been with a boy named Jacob. I'd been fourteen at the time, it was the last summer I'd spent in Forks. Jacob and I had known each other since we were little kids and it just kind of happened. This kiss wasn't like that though. Our lips matched perfectly and I smiled against him. I could feel him smiling as well when I pulled back.

"I think this is a great birthday." I said, and he leaned in again.

**I know, my chapters are getting shorter, but my mom helped me come up with what I should do next with it. I should update on Sunday. Reviews make me extremely happy! Thanks for reading! **


	10. Chapter 10

**Obviously I know today isn't Sunday. I'm SO sorry this is late, I couldn't get this chapter out for anything! Thank you all for reviewing and reading, it means the world. And my best friend told me that the song 'Remembering Sunday' by All Time Low ft Juliet Simms fits this song pretty well so if you'd like to listen or whatnot. & thanks to BluezAvarado for beta-ing! **

**Hope you enjoy! **

**BPOV**

The months passed quickly and I settled into college life well. As time went on, I found myself spending more and more time with Jasper. We walked to classes together in the morning, and he waited for me after. He really seemed to be cleaning his life up and I was happy for him. Christmas Break was coming up and I was excited. I was flying home on the 16th of December; the day after Finals ended. I hadn't seen my mom in so long. On Saturday night, Rosalie and I were in her room watching _Marie Antoinette. _

"I wish I lived back then." She said, gathering all her hair on the top of her head like Kristin Dunst. "How do I look?"

"You look fabulous." I replied, laughing. "But why would you ever want to live back then? It was hot in the summer, cold in the winter, and so many things could kill you."

"But their dresses! They're beautiful." I gave her that. They were.

"So Bella, what are you doing for break? You're going home, aren't you?"

"Yeah, I'm going to Jacksonville on the sixteenth and coming back on the sixth of January. What about you?"

"Jasper and I are going to go home to Texas. My parents are dying to see him. My mom cried when I told her we were planning on coming home."

"That's great!" I said, and I really meant it. I was so happy that he was going to be able to see his parents again. "Are you excited?"

"Yes! I am, at least. I don't think Jasper is though." I was sad that he was leaving. We had grown attached to one another and it was going to be really hard to leave him. I wanted to ask him to come to Jacksonville with me but I didn't want to be too forward. I hadn't even left yet and I already missed him.

"Why do you say that?" I asked, pausing the movie. It was getting to be my favorite part and I didn't want to miss it.

"I think he's afraid to leave you. It's like you keep him from doing stupid stuff and he's afraid he's going to mess up while we're away. He's never come out and openly said it, but I can tell. You have that effect on him, you know."

"Really, you think that? I think it's more that he's afraid to see your parents after so long. And after everything he's been through, I couldn't blame him." Rosalie looked at me for a minute.

"I think that's part of it too, but I think a lot of it has to do with you. He's my brother, I can tell." And with that, she restarted the movie.

On December 14th, I sat in Jasper's room, studying for my last fall class final. He was seated in the recliner in his room, typing something on his laptop. The click of the keys was seriously distracting me. I huffed, and he looked over at me.

"Is there a problem?" he asked, moving his computer off of him and standing up. He walked over to his bed, taking the papers I was holding out of my hands. I giggled as he kissed up my neck and on to my jaw.

"I think I make a better distraction." I smiled as he kissed my forehead.

"I think you do too, but I need to study. I don't want to fail this chemistry final."

He let me go, sitting down beside me. "I'm going to miss you while you're gone." He looked at me, and I smiled sadly.

"It's only for about three weeks," I stated, moving to sit in his lap. "And then we'll be back!"

"Three weeks is a long time." he played with a strand of my hair.

"You're spending it with your family, aren't you excited?" I turned around, facing him.

"A little, but I'm nervous. I haven't seen them in so long. Wait, how did you know?"

"Rosalie told me, and I'm sure she'll make sure things aren't too terrible. Why are you so nervous?" He looked scared and I felt bad for him. As far as I knew, he hadn't had a drink since that terrible night in September. Emmett's rule about no alcohol went over alright with the other house members once they knew what had happened.

"After what I did to my parents, how am I supposed to face them?" He looked torn and I cupped his cheek.

"Look at how strong you are. You're beating your problem, and Rosalie, and Emmett and I, we're so proud of you. Your parents are too. I've never met them, but I know they are." He smiled brightly.

"I'm glad I have you, you know."

"I know. And I'm glad I have you." He let me off his lap, grabbed his computer and got back on the bed. I hadn't resumed studying and he looked at me and smirked. "You need to finish studying."

I studied for awhile but it was hard to concentrate. The words on the page started running together, and I began to go cross-eyed. It seemed like it must have been past midnight, but when I looked at the clock it was only 10 after 8. I sighed. Time went by so slowly when it got dark early. After awhile, I closed my eyes. Jasper moved the bangs off my face and I opened my eyes.

"Bella, what's the address you're going to be at?"

"14 Methonia Ave, Jacksonville FL 32221. Why?"

"So I can send your Christmas present during break." He replied, looking at me like I had grown a second head.

"Why don't you just give it to me before we leave?"

"It isn't Christmas yet."

"It probably won't get to my house all the way from Texas by Christmas. And you didn't need to get me anything anyway."

"Yes, I did and don't worry. It'll get there; I'll make it get there." He said.

"Well you don't get your birthday present or your Christmas present until we get back."

"Wait, you got me two separate things?"

"Yes."

"You didn't need to do that." He said.

"Well, you didn't need to get me a present either." I stated, sitting up. "Why can't you just give it to me when we get back?"

"I just can't." he laughed. "I hope you'll like it."

"I'm sure I will." He kissed me one more time and I left to go home.

**JPOV**

I rode with Bella to the airport. She was leaving before I was which made me sad. Being without her worried me. She had been my light and I clung to her. Rosalie and Bella trusted me enough for me to go away for the holidays. My mom called me and cried; she was so excited to see me, but, for some reason I wasn't all that excited to see her. Bella checked in while I got settled in the waiting area.

"What are you doing?" she asked, sitting in the seat next to me.

"You have an hour and a half until your flight. I'm waiting until you board." I replied, lacing my fingers with hers, "if that's alright." Geez, I was really clinging to her, I hoped she didn't mind.

"Of course it's alright." She smiled at me and I couldn't help but smile back.

Her flight was called and I walked with her to the gate. I hugged her tightly; I inhaled, trying to remember the way she smelled for the few weeks we were going to be separated. She seemed to be trying to accomplish the same with me, which made me smile. She pulled back. "I've really got to go. I don't want to miss my flight." I rubbed my thumbs on her cheek bones.

"Are you sure?"

"Well, not really, but I have to go. I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you, too, and hey, Bella?"

"Yeah?" she asked, looking up at me.

"I love you." It had been four months and we hadn't said it yet. I wanted to say it so much sooner but I couldn't bring myself to. I didn't want to be overbearing. She was beaming, which made my heartbeat pick up.

"I love you, too." She dropped her hands from mine and kissed me. "I will see you in three weeks." She turned around and walked to the counter where she handed the check in lady her ticket. Little did she know, she'd be coming to Texas on the 27th. Rosalie had already worked it out with Renee, and I was more than ecstatic.

The next day, I sat on a plane to Dallas. Rosalie had the window seat. She promised it to me on the way home. After the four hour flight, I was glad to stretch my legs. When we walked off the plane, the dry coldness hit me. It was cold in Charleston, but it wasn't like this kind of cold and it made me miss Charleston even more. Bella had only been away from me for two days and I was ready to go back already. I probably looked miserable and I was sure that Rosalie could tell.

"Jasper," she said, snapping me out of my thoughts. "We need to go this way. Mom and Dad are at the front." _Shit, mom and dad. _I followed her through the crowd, watching her red suitcase as we went. Before we got to the front, Rosalie stopped abruptly. "I know you aren't happy to be here, but it's only for a week and a half until Bella comes. So please try to be happy for mom and dad while she isn't here. They're so happy to have you home for Christmas, you don't even know." She looked at me, searching my face.

"What if Bella doesn't come?" I asked, sounding more like whiny two year old rather than the 20 year old I was about to turn.

"Renee said that she was more than happy to let Bella come, and in three days, you're going to be 20. Suck it up. Let's go. I can see mom's hair now." She said, turning around and walking toward the door, her heels clicking with every step she took.

We walked to the front of the airport, where our parents were waiting. My mom ran towards us, hugging Rosalie first.

"Rosalie! You look so good," she cooed. "College has been good for you!" She looked over my sister, positively glowing. She let Rosalie go and my dad hugged her. Rosalie stood beside my dad, letting my parents look at me. "Jasper Hale." My mom said to me, looking me in the eye.

**Reviews make me really happy and keep me writing! Thanks a bunch! **


	11. Chapter 11

**Thank you everyone who reviewed my last chapter! The next few should come soon, and the story should start to wrap up soon because my mom sprung it on me today that we were flying to Jacksonville to see my aunt before school starts back. **

**And to the people who actually read these little disclaimers, it would mean a lot if you could keep my baby cousin Sam, in your thoughts because he had open heart surgery this week because he was born without the left side of his heart (he is now six & this should be his last surgery)**

**I own nothing & a huge thank you to BluezAvarado because I know she is super busy and she still finds time to edit my story!  
**

**JPOV**

My mother stood there looking at me as I met her gaze. She was crying, her mascara streaking down her cheeks as she walked slowly toward me, smiling all the while.

"You're home," she said. She reached me, holding her arms out for a hug. I hugged her back, realizing I'd forgotten what it was like to hug my mom.

My mother was tall, like Rosalie; basically, she was an older version with bigger hair. She had that huge hair that she did every morning, whether it was raining or had the same blonde hair that my sister and I did, and the older she got, the more makeup she wore. She had been a beauty queen in her late teens and early twenties, but she quit once she had Rosalie and me. She started living vicariously through Rose when she was old enough to walk.

My mother was the typical southern lady. We had candle parties at my house on Friday nights, and we had brunch at the country club on Saturday mornings. She made us attend church every Sunday, even though as Rosalie and I grew older we began to hate waking up early. She looked the same as she did when I left, but the creases on her forehead and smile lines on her cheeks were beginning to show her age.

"I'm home." I said, releasing her. She adjusted her white tunic and absent mindedly brushed invisible dust off of her black pants. I looked over at my dad, who had yet to say anything. My dad was the same as my mom, the same look about him, and the same aura he put off. He owned a couple of rental properties in the Dallas area, so to say Rose and I were privileged growing up was an understatement. My dad had straight, dark hair, unlike mine. My eyes were carbon copies of his, and while my dad looked friendly, he could stare straight through you. He pulled his hands out of the pockets of his khaki slack, and clapped me on the back.

"Welcome back, Son."

Rosalie walked beside my mom, catching up. I could hear my mother squeal, so I could only assume Rosalie had mentioned something exciting. My dad walked beside me, glancing at me every so often, as if I were going to disappear. Mom stopped at a black Cadillac Escalade, and, mentally, I sighed heavily. I was out at college and so was Rosalie, so why they would need such a large car was beyond me. Mom sat in front, turning around and looking at us the whole ride home.

"Mom, why do you keep looking at us? We're here for the next three weeks, we aren't going to disappear." Rosalie said, twirling a blonde ringlet around her finger.

"I know, sweetie, but I'm your mother and I've missed you so much. I haven't seen my babies in so long." My mother grinned. "Y'all have grown up so fast and I don't know where the time went. It just seems like yesterday Rosalie was starting ballet and Jasper was learning piano." I smiled at the memory. I had been so good at piano, and Rosalie had been a perfect dancer. "Where did the time go?" she asked, patting my knee. I felt so young. I smiled at her.

"Caroline," my dad said, "they've just gotten off the plane. They aren't going anywhere for three weeks."

"I know, Rhett, but we haven't seen them in so long!" she turned back around, adjusting her sunglasses. She was crying and Rosalie started laughing.

Rosalie looked at me. "Nothing's changed, I see." I laughed as I looked out the window at the familiar drive to my childhood home. We drove past my old elementary school, and my old piano teacher's house; it all felt so familiar.

**RPOV**

I could tell Jasper felt awkward being home, and the fact that our mom was being overly dramatic only made things worse. My dad and I had tried to prepare her for our homecoming, but there wasn't anything you could really do to stop Caroline Hale. It was nice to be home again, but I missed Emmett, I missed Charleston.

I watched Jasper as we drove down the familiar streets of our town, searching for any sign of emotion. He didn't look happy, and I couldn't say I blamed him.

We pulled up to the gate and the driveway that led to our house. It sat on property that had been in our family since the early 1800' parents got the house sometime before Jasper was born and made it their own. It was a beautiful, white house with white columns and black shutters. The house was supposedly designed to look like the very first plantation built on the property – which was burned down during the War Between the States. All my friends growing up envied me, and that made me happy. I was so vain, and only now was I realizing how lucky I truly was.

My dad opened the garage door and pulled in, parking beside a black BMW 750i. Jasper's and my cars from high school were still parked in the garage as well; my midnight blue Range Rover and Jasper's dark red G35. As I look back now, I realize how gaudy we must have looked. I enjoyed my high school years though, and for awhile, so did Jasper.

He was the first one out of the car, and he practically ran to his old car; he loved it so much. He washed it once a week, whether it had rained or not. It was affectionately named Savannah. We all got out of the car, watching Jasper. He looked up at all of us.

"What?" he asked, tracing his finger along the edge of the car, "I haven't seen her in so long." We all rolled our eyes, laughing. We eventually made it inside, where Jasper and I dropped our suitcases at the foot of the winding staircase. Our house smelled like cinnamon, and it looked like a winter wonderland. The staircase was decorated with green and red garland and the bottom of the stairs glowed with tiny small lights. The living room had a very large tree in the corner, decorated with multicolored lights and blue and white ribbon. Presents were already stacked high under the tree and I smiled. All four of our stockings were hung on the fire place, dad's first, then mom's, then Jasper's, and, finally, mine; there was one for our dog, Lucy, at the very end. Dad started the fireplace and I sat down on the couch.

**JPOV**

Although I was happy to see my car again, I felt lost in my own home. My mother was glowing and looked so happy; I just couldn't find the nerve to say anything negative. After a while of sitting in the living room, I could tell my dad was itching to talk to me and I at least owed him an explanation. I walked down the long hallway toward his office. He sat in his desk and I sat on the small couch he had.

"How is college?" he asked me, sitting down and putting his feet up on his desk. He had never looked more intimidating.

"Its fine, I like it." I replied, feeling scared.

"That's wonderful news, Son. Are you still in the fraternity?"

"Yes," I gulped, "and I know exactly what you're thinking; it isn't like that. I haven't drunk any alcohol since September." His face displayed no emotion; it made me even more nervous. My hands were sweating and it was getting hard to swallow.

"Is that right?" He didn't trust me, but I couldn't blame him.

"Yes, you can ask Rosalie. I promise. I've stopped."

"I will. Jasper, please behave yourself while you're here. You have no idea what you put your mother through. I'm glad you've made it home in one piece, at least." He sounded harsh, but I understood. _This _would be my punishment. I stood up and made it to the door. "And I'm looking forward to meeting this girl you're bringing home." I stopped and turned around.

"Yes, I'm looking forward to it, too."

**RPOV**

I sat in the living room with my mom, her in the recliner, and myself on the couch. I knew my dad was talking to Jasper, and so far, I didn't hear any yelling, which was an extremely good sign.

"Rosalie, you have no idea how happy I am that you two are here. I know you're grown and everything, but when you're a mother, you'll understand." I smiled at her. "I don't do so well with both of my children so far away. I had to worry about Jasper and then you and…" she started rambling, but I stopped her.

"Mom, I understand, I really do, but we're fine. Jasper is doing really well. You would be so proud of him; he's like a new person, and I'm doing extremely well myself." I explained, "Even though I miss you, I love where I am."

"I am being overdramatic, aren't I?"

"Just a tad," I chuckled.

"That was my talent in my pageant days, you know."

"I know, Mom, I know." By the way she looked; I could tell she was remembering her life before she had children. In her pageants, she would recite the monologue from _A Midsummer Night's Dream._

"Allie, tell me about your college life! Don't leave out a single detail." Since I can't stand _Rose_ or _Rosie, Allie _has been my mother's nickname for me ever since childhood.

"Well, on my second night there, I met a girl named Bella," I opened my mouth to continue my sentence but my mother interrupted me.

"Is she the one that's coming here next week?"

"Yes, that's the one. Anyway, Bella and I went out for coffee and we talked. We get along really well; I think you're really going to like her. She's so good for Jasper, Mom, you should see them together." She stood up and lit a candle.

"I can't wait to meet her, she sounds positively wonderful."

"She really is. So then I met a guy named Emmett, he's great, too. He's the head of the Kappa Sigma frat and he's so tall. I mean, he's like a giant! Like, you just look at him and say 'he must have played high school football,' but he's a real teddy bear at heart." I stopped for a second, trying to decide whether I was going to tell her about that night in September.

"Kappa Sigma, you said?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Isn't that the one Jasper was in for awhile?"

"Yes, and he still is, but he's so much better since he met Bella, just wait and see."

"Still in it, _he's still in it_?" Her voice rose with every word.

"Yes, but he hasn't even so much as looked at a drink since September." She didn't look convinced, so I tried harder to convince her. "Seriously, wait until you see him. He's so different." I stood up, going over to where she was standing. She hugged me until I couldn't breathe.

"I love you, Rosalie, and your brother, too. Don't you ever forget that."

"I won't, Mom… we love you too."

**Reviews give me inspiration to keep writing so just hit that little button! :D And thank you so, so much for reading!**


	12. Chapter 12

**I own nothing! Thanks to BluezAvarado for reading this over!  
**

**Okay, I know you all wanted Bella to meet his parents, and that will come! Just to let you know, this is Bella the whole time during her time in Jacksonville, it does include Christmas and when she leaves for Texas. In the next chapter, it goes back to Jasper in Texas before Bella comes. Just wanted to clear that up.  
**

**Sorry about poking fun at vampires...if I was a True Blood vampire, I'd so want to be one! So anyway, on with the story...  
**

**BPOV**

The second I got on the plane to Jacksonville, I missed Jasper so much I could barely stand it. I felt silly for it, but there wasn't much else on my mind and no matter how I tried, my train of thought always led back to Jasper.

The flight to Jacksonville, thankfully, wasn't a long one; I hated flying. I stayed seated in the aisle seat the whole time, not wanting to look out the window at the ocean. I wondered what Jasper was doing in Charleston, and how he was doing, and if he missed me half as much as I missed him. Saying I love you might have been the only Christmas present that I needed from him, but it made being apart even harder to bear.

When I arrived in Jacksonville, it was abnormally warm. It must have been at least 70 and as humid as Charleston, if not more. I saw Renee standing at the end of the gate, waiting for me. I adjusted my carry-on bag, pulling it farther up my shoulder. She began frantically waving at me, instantly gaining the attention of other passengers. Running toward me, she pulled me into her arms.

"Isabella! You're home! You're home!" I hugged my mom, smelling the familiar scent of her hair and perfume.

"I missed you, too." We left to go to her car, which was parked the farthest from the entrance, "Mom, why did you park so far away?"

"Walking is healthy!" she insisted, putting my bags in the trunk. We got into her small car and pulled out of JAX, heading out onto the main highway. I saw The Regency, the biggest mall in Jacksonville, St. Johns River, and other attractions of Jacksonville. Here, though, it didn't feel like Christmas, it was too hot. While the trees in the neighborhoods were decorated with lights, it didn't do much to put me in the holiday spirit. My hair was frizzing at the roots and Renee even had the windows down.

We pulled into a small neighborhood where all the houses looked the same, yet still different. Renee's house was a small, one story brick home with a large yard. You walked into a formal living room; there was a small dining room, and a galley style kitchen that had been renovated recently. I walked down the long hallway to the medium sized guest room where I set my bags. I would unpack them later.

Renee showed me the computer room, the master bedroom, Phil's man-cave, the den, and the pool in the backyard. It was drained for the winter, and they were installing a hot tub. It was a beautiful house, but it seemed cramped to me. As I looked around their neighborhood, I became happier I decided to attend The College of Charleston instead of The University of Florida.

I sat at the small table in the kitchen while Renee cooked dinner. As she peeled potatoes, she asked me questions about my life. I hadn't seen her in almost five months, but I had emailed her at least once at week.

"You could still transfer the University of Florida, or even to Florida State, they're excellent schools." She said, putting the potatoes in a pot.

"I know." I said as I put my feet on the chair opposite me, "but I like where I am."

"You seem so far away."

"I'm only 4 ½ hours away, and we email all the time."

"You can't blame a mom for missing her only child."

"No, I guess I can't, but I love Charleston."

She finished cooking dinner, and sat down with me. Phil was out of town for the next two days, so it would be just us. She asked me about Rosalie, and about Jasper. She was especially curious about Jasper, which made me suspect there was some ulterior motive to her questions.

"Tell me about him." She said.

"Well, he's tall, almost a foot taller than I am. He has blondish curly hair and gray blue eyes. He's funny, he's studying to be a history teacher, and he's in a fraternity." I paused, "I know what you're thinking, but he isn't like a typical frat boy. He's great."

"Is that why you want to stay in Charleston so badly?"

"Well, he's definitely part of it, but I love the city and the college."

"I understand, honey, and I'm ecstatic that you're so happy."

We moved into the den and I noticed the small Christmas tree that was set up in the corner. It was short and fat with lots of colored lights on it. As I moved in closer, I could see most of the decorations were the ones I had made with Renee when I was younger. Presents were under the tree, stacked upon another. There wasn't a fireplace to hang stockings, which made me sad, but they were hung on the wall behind the couch. My mom and I sat down and started the first season of _True Blood. _It had become her most recent interest, and I had promised her I'd watch it with her. Vampires; I would never understand the greatness about them. Sookie, the main character, was great because she didn't want to be a vampire. Why would you want to live forever? Life would get incredibly dull after 100 years, and being frozen at 20 forever would be awful. You'd have to go through high school over and over again, and what would you do during the day if you didn't sleep? God, I would hate it.

We finished through season 2, but it was getting late and I was getting sleepy. I went into the second bathroom and got ready for bed.

"Goodnight, mom!" I yelled, before I shut the door.

Phil came home on the 18th, and it was sort of awkward. He was younger than my mom, and seeing them all lovey dovey was weird. It was nice that she had found someone to take care of her though. On the 20th, Renee gave me directions to the mall so I could go Christmas shopping. I had some things that I had gotten in Charleston, but I wanted to get something here. I still had to get Rosalie's gift, and I had to get Phil and Charlie something. I didn't know what Charlie wanted, so every year I sent him the most recent picture of myself and a Simon gift card that he could use to buy whatever he wanted. That sounded horrible, but Washington is a long way away. Rosalie was going to be hard to buy for because she had absolutely everything. The Regency was absolutely packed and I was frustrated that I had decided to come alone. When I was halfway through my list, my phone vibrated.

_Texas is so boring. I miss you. Call me later? _Jasper, I smiled at his text message and felt stupid because I realized people could see me.

_Florida is boring too. I miss you as well. I'll call you around nine. Happy early birthday!_

_Thank you, but I'm not too excited. I'm going out with some of my friends from high school. Rosalie says hello. _

_Well I hope you have fun, tell Rosalie hi. _

_I will and talk to you at nine. _I shut my phone and put it in my bag. Nine o'clock couldn't come fast enough.

On Christmas Eve, just after dinner the doorbell rang. Renee, Phil and I were all sitting in the den. My mom looked at me. "Bella, why don't you get that?" I found it odd because it was her home, and she was closer to the door. The doorbell rang again and I stood up, quickly walking toward the door. I opened it, and it was the UPS man.

"Sorry this is late, I was supposed to deliver it earlier but I had so many other things to deliver." He handed me a package. "Are you Bella Swan?" I nodded. "Okay, can you sign please?" I signed my name and walked back into the den.

"Who is it from?" Phil asked, taking a sip of his drink.

"I don't know. Let me look." I examined the package for a return address but all I could find was Dallas, Texas so obviously it was from Jasper. "It's from Jasper." My mom smiled, and I tore off the end of the large envelope. I pulled out a plane ticket that left from JAX on December 26th at 3PM. It was a straight flight there so I didn't have any layovers. This must have been my Christmas present and while I was mad at him for spending so much money on a ticket, I was more than excited to meet his family and see where he grew up.

"Did you know about this?" I asked my mom, and she just smiled.

"Maybe."

I went into the spare room and called Jasper. When he didn't answer, I tried again. About an hour later, I tried a third time and he finally answered.

"Hello?" he asked and he sounded very annoyed.

"Hey. I just got your present."

"That's good."

"What's the matter?" I asked.

"The situation here isn't going so well, and someone I didn't want to see just stopped by. I've got to go, but I can't wait until you get here. I'll call you later."

"Alright," I didn't want to pry any further.

"I love you." And he hung up.

On Christmas morning, we got up early and Renee cooked breakfast. I wondered why Jasper was so bothered and what had happened. After breakfast we made it into the den to open presents. I got some money, new pajamas, and a movie. Phil got a Red Sox jersey (from me), and some other knick knacks. Renee got some books and the latest season of True Blood on DVD. It was a nice Christmas, calm and uneventful. Charlie called and told me Merry Christmas and that he liked my gift. We spent the day watching _A Christmas Story_.

I packed up that night; it was sad to leave my mom after such a short time, but I had been with her for nine days. I was more excited to go to Texas to see Jasper. I missed him and Rosalie, and I very much needed some level headedness. Renee always seemed so out of it, and I was looking forward Rosalie's shopping antics and her beauty regimes. Being with Renee and Phil made me wonder what Jasper's parents were like. All I knew was that they were rich, powerful and very popular. Renee drove me to the airport and hugged me bye for at least five minutes. I texted Jasper before I got on the plane.

_I'm leaving now. I hope you had a nice Christmas. I'll see you in a few hours!_

_I did, thanks. And I can't wait to see you! I'll be waiting to pick you up._

**I wonder who stopped by! **

**Reviews are lovely, but not required. I will always update! Until next time!  
**


	13. Chapter 13

**Well, to all of you who guessed stopped by, this should give you a little foreshadowing because it will be revealed next chapter! Bella will also get to Texas in the chapter after next. Sorry for delaying it, but these chapters were necessary. & thanks to all those who reviewed, I tried to reply to all of you, and I so appreciate it! It makes me giddy. Thanks to BluezAvarado for beta-ing. She's got a busy schedule and fits my story into it :) **

**PS- My dislike for Edward comes out in this chapter, sorry lovelies. He'll be redeemed though :)**

**PPS- If you see the name Bennett anywhere, just think Davis because I changed his name. **

**JPOV**

On the 20th of December I woke up early, much too early. I was having a hard time falling asleep in my childhood bedroom. Although it had been changed from the Texas Longhorns theme I had when I was little, to the gray paint I had now, the bed I was sleeping on was too soft and I longed for the one I had in Charleston.

As I lay there, I could hear my mom speaking downstairs, and it was obvious she was on the phone. I was tired of just sitting in my bed so I got up and threw on some clothes. "I think I hear him coming downstairs now," my mother said, "He'll be so excited to see you! I can't believe you haven't talked to him in two years!"

I made it into the kitchen right as she hung up the phone, and opened the fridge to get something to drink. Sitting down at the island, my mom turned toward me. "You are never going to guess who that was!" she said.

"Who was it?" I asked. I was too tired to deal with her perkiness.

"Those were your friends, Edward and Davis, from high school! You know, the ones you used to hang out with before you moved away."

"Oh," I said. Davis was two years older than I was, and he was the one who was responsible for my bad habit, well…not really. I was the one who was responsible for that, but he gave me my first beer and I hadn't stopped since. Edward was older than I was too, and, at the time, I'd felt so cool hanging out with them, but now I didn't want anything to do with them. Something had happened with Davis and me before I left, and while I was going to leave anyway, his disliking me gave me even more reason to leave as early as possible. They were the only two close friends I had, besides Rosalie, and when Davis decided that he hated me, I couldn't find any reason for me to stay. He wouldn't tell me what had happened, and while it seemed a little female to have drama like this, I just left them alone.

"Don't you want to know what they said?"

"Sure, Mom, what did they say?"

"Well, they remembered your birthday was tomorrow and they want you to come over and celebrate with them! Isn't that wonderful? Your father and I had planned to celebrate here tomorrow, but since this has come up, we'll celebrate tonight!"

"Wait, what?" I asked. I was incredibly confused.

"Your friends, Edward and Davis," she repeated very slowly, she must have thought I was still half way asleep, "want to celebrate your birthday with you tomorrow, and we're going to celebrate tonight. How does that sound?"

"It sounds weird," I replied, getting up and going to the table where Rosalie was reading _Vogue. _My mom followed me to the table, putting her hands on the back of the chair, "Jasper, I think it'll be good for you to go out with some of your friends."

"Mom, I don't consider them friends anymore."

"They reached out to you, on your _birthday_. I think you could at least you see them for a few hours, don't you?" She looked at Rosalie, trying to get her to back her up. Rosalie put up both her hands in surrender.

"Don't drag me into this. I don't want anything to do with it."

"Jasper, you haven't talked to them in 2 years. Don't you think you should go?"

"Fine, Mom, I'll go." I said, and my mom smiled.

"Excellent." She said, waltzing out of the room.

Rosalie looked at me and cocked an eyebrow. "Why?" she asked, marking the page she was on and setting her magazine on the table.

"So she'd get off my back about it."

"I don't trust them," She stated, "I don't think it's a good idea."

"I don't either, but it'll only be for a few hours … plus I want to find out why Davis hates me so much."

"I have a feeling you're going to regret this."

"I do too, but I want to see what the matter with those two is, I want to know if they've grown up at all." She opened back up her magazine up again.

"Right, well, don't mess up. Bella comes in six days."

"I'm counting down." I said, getting up and going to my room.

Later that night, my mother cooked a meal big enough for 10 people for my birthday. She made 4 cheese lasagna, rolls, and salad. Our dinner was eaten in silence, and I could tell my dad still wasn't happy with me, but when my mom mentioned that I was going over to Dave's house the following night, he seemed to become a little bit more pleased.

I was supposed to meet Davis and Edward at Davis' at 7:30 on the day of my birthday. I wasn't sure what we were doing, and I thought it was a little late, but knowing them I didn't find it too unusual. When I had finished showering and getting dressed, I walked back into my room, where Rosalie was waiting by the door.

"You shouldn't go. I really don't trust them." She was concerned.

"I'm going to be fine. Don't worry about me. I'm driving, so when I get tired of being there, I can come home."

"But Jas, they know your past. They know your weakness."

"I'm a big boy. I know how to say no."

"I'm just worried." She crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"I'm going to be absolutely fine." She moved out of my way and I told my parents goodbye.

I looked at my car for a minute before I climbed in. The interior had black leather seats, with dark wood trim. It went fast and that's what I loved. In all my years of living in my city, I had never gotten pulled over, even when I sped. Driving to Davis' house, I felt anxious but I didn't know what for. There were other cars in front of his house, and in his driveway which made me annoyed because I hadn't seen any of these people in so long and I didn't want to just walk in and have people bombard me.

The front door opened before I got to the porch, and Davis stood there looking at me. "Jasper, my man, you came."

"Yeah, my mom wanted to get me out of the house."

"Awesome, well, sorry there are a lot of people here. Elena wanted to have her Christmas party tonight."

"Who's Elena?" I asked, walking through the door.

"Oh, that's right," He laughed, "You wouldn't know her. She's my fiancée."

"That's great." I said, and I meant it. Although he was acting nice to my face, there was something not quite right about this atmosphere.

"Do you want a drink?" he asked, "We've got wine, beer, rum, and coke, basically whatever you want."

"I don't drink anymore. I'll just take a coke."

"You're not drinking? _You? _Are you being serious?"

"Yeah, I stopped this year."

"Well that's wonderful. I'll go get you that coke."

He left the room, and a girl came up to me. "You must be Jasper. I'm Elena."

"Hi." I said.

"I hear it's your birthday."

"It is."

"How old are you turning?"

"20."

"You look older." She replied, twisting the giant rock she had on her finger. I almost asked how old she was, because she was short and didn't look any older than me. Then I remembered that it was rude to ask a lady her age.

"Oh." That was all I could say.

"Well, it was nice to meet you. Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday, Jasper."

"Thanks, you have a good Christmas as well." She walked off in the opposite direction and Davis returned with my coke.

"Here you go." He handed me the coke and I took as sip. Something tasted off, but there was a lot of ice in it so I thought maybe it was a little watery. After a few minutes, Edward showed up. He clapped me on the back.

"Good to see you." He said, sitting down across from me. When I finished my previous drink, and Davis handed me another one. I took a sip, tasting the same odd taste from before.

"Yeah, how's it been going?"

"It's been really good. I'm finishing up at Texas A&M and getting ready to start my first job. How's it been going with you?"

"It's going really well. I love being in school…" Suddenly, it got really hard to think of what to say next. I knew what I wanted to say, but I couldn't get it out, "Um, yeah, I just really like where I am in my life." Davis whispered something to Edward, and Edward began to laugh.

"What's funny?" I asked.

"Nothing," they both said at the same time. "Just an inside joke."

"Congratulations on getting engaged, Davis. She's really pretty, and seems sweet."

"Thanks. I'm excited."

"I'll bet." We made small talk for a few minutes, talking about what our lives were like now. Davis told me about how they had redone the inside of the house.

"We just finished our backyard. Why don't you come see it?" I had just finished my second drink and now I knew there was definitely something wrong; I couldn't even form coherent sentences.

"I would, but it's getting pretty late and I should go."

"You've got to see the backyard though. I've been dying to show it off, but everyone here has already seen it. It won't take that long."

"Sure," I said, I stood up, and we started walking toward the backyard. I stumbled in the kitchen and Edward started laughing.

"What have you been drinking tonight? Don't you think it's time to lay off the drinks?"

"I haven't drunk anything tonight." I heard Davis snicker and Edward threw his arm around me.

"Whatever floats your boat."

We made it to the backyard, but it was hard to see. Davis didn't turn on any lights and I started to panic. Edward shut the door behind him and made his way to where we were standing.

"So Jasper, do you remember when you left? Did you use the money you took to buy your school supplies? Your plane ticket?"

"What money? I used my own money to buy everything." I said, racking my brain to figure out what he was talking about.

"That money you took from me so long ago. You're such a rich little boy and you still had to steal."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Stop playing dumb. You know exactly what you did. Edward told me all about it. That's why you just up and left."

My head was spinning and I had to fight to concentrate on what he was saying. Every word sounded like gibberish.

"I left to go to college and to get away."

"Yeah, running away from your problem, right? But you can't run now, can you?" I tried to turn around to go back in, but I couldn't. I was about to fall over. I felt Edward come up behind me and hold my arms back. "I think you should pay back for what you did."

"Edward, get off me. You know I didn't do it. I have no idea…" That was all I could get out before the first punch hit my stomach. I struggled to fight back but I couldn't because of Edward, and because they had obviously done something to my drink. He punched me repeatedly, until Edward let me fall on to the ground, where Davis repeatedly kicked my ribs.

"Davis, stop. I think he's got the point by now. You don't want to break anything."

"I think he deserves it. 2,500 dollars is a lot to steal from _a best friend."_

"I know, but he can already press charges on us if he wants."

"But he won't because I'll get him for stealing. You know my dad's a lawyer. Isn't that right, Jasper? You won't rat us out, will you? Because this is what happened: you, being an alcoholic and all, got drunk. We were upstairs, talking about high school and you decided to go back downstairs, but you didn't quite make it because you fell half way down." All I could do was nod. "See, Edward? That's what happened. Now you drive him home, and I'll follow in my car. I'll take him in to his parents and explain what happened."

I heard Davis walk away and I stayed exactly where I was. I couldn't move. "Here, I'll help you up." Edward helped me stand and put me in my car. I dug my keys out of my pocket.

"Why did you let him do that?"

"I can't explain now."

"Just get me home."

The ride home was awkward and silent. He opened his mouth to say something a couple different times, but never said anything. If he had, I probably would have found the strength to punch him. I wanted to break his jaw. He sat there, granted we weren't really friends, but he _sat _there while Davis kicked my ass over something I could honestly say I had no idea what he was talking about. We pulled up to my driveway and the gate opened. "I'm sorry." He said.

"Get the hell out of my car, now. And go home." I said, grabbing my keys out of the ignition and slamming the car door in his face. I stumbled in my door, still feeling the effects of whatever they had done to my drinks. My mouth was also bleeding, and my cheek hurt like hell. My mother and father were in the living room, watching a movie. Rosalie floated down the stairs and stopped when she saw me.

"Jasper!" My mother came running, "What the hell happened to you?" Davis came in behind me.

"He's a little out of it, so let me explain. We were having a great time; we got caught up in talking about high school, and the band he used to have. He began talking about his college life, and all the frat parties he attended. He saw the alcohol in the corner and got up and started drinking and couldn't stop. We tried to stop him, but he got mad at us and started down the stairs. He got about a third of the way down and took a big tumble. I think he's alright, but he may have some bruised ribs and a bruised cheek." My father looked furious, my mother looked heartbroken, and Rosalie looked like she didn't believe a word of it.

"Thanks for bringing him home, Davis. We thought he had finished drinking." My mom said, putting her arm around me.

"We did too, unfortunately."

"Thanks again," my mother said. My dad had disappeared. "I'll take him upstairs now."

**RPOV**

I heard the front door open and I ran downstairs. Jasper stumbled through the door, with Davis following behind. I knew him leaving wouldn't be a good idea. I hurried down the stairs once my mom and Jasper had passed me. My dad had left the room after Davis had finished explaining what had supposedly happened. I didn't believe a word he said. Jasper was finished drinking, he hadn't touched alcohol in four and a half months. I saw Davis smirk and that's when my temper got the best of me. I let him walk out of the house before I ran after him. I slammed the door behind me.

"Hey," I said, loud enough to let him know I was angry, but not loud enough for my parents to hear. I hit his chest as hard as I could. "What the hell did you do to him?"

**Oh, Edward, you're a jerk!**

**And oh Rosalie...**

**Reviews always appreciated :) Until next time! **


	14. Chapter 14

**I own nothing! Thanks to BluezAvarado for beta'ing!  
**

**I'm going to try and start updating sooner, because school is starting soon and I'm leaving for vacation in a week and a half so hopefully I'll get it finished. I'm sad to see it ending, but I may write another story when this is done. **

**PS- If anyone is wondering about my cousin that I mentioned a few chapters back, he is doing wonderfully! He even gets to come home sometime this coming week! **

**RPOV**

"What the hell did you do to him?" I yelled, hitting Davis square in the chest. I hoped it would leave a bruise.

"Don't you think you should be worried about your big brother?" he replied, looking like the cat who killed the canary.

"You had something to do with this! _What did you do_?" I said, emphasizing each word.

"Your perfect big brother isn't so wonderful, little one. Maybe you should ask him what he did."

I noticed Edward was standing bedside Davis' car. He noticed me staring at him and walked around to the other side so I couldn't see him. _Coward. _"Well, why don't you tell me what he did that's just so bad?" Davis stepped toward me but I wasn't scared. He was only an inch or so taller than I was, so I stood my ground. He twirled one of my curls around his finger. I slapped it away. "Don't touch me." I snarled. Then I realized what he had just done to Jasper and my flight or fight reflex kicked in.

"Or what, is your brother coming to save you? I don't think so." I stepped back. "Aw, you don't want to play anymore? What happened to that confidant, pretty Texan blonde that was here a minute ago?"

"Dave, stop!" Edward came around the other side of the car. "Elena is probably wondering where you are. Let's just go before this gets anymore out of hand." Davis sighed.

"Hmm," He debated. "Maybe you're right. She's a bitch to deal with when she's mad. Let's go." He took one more step toward me, and I stepped back again with my hand against the doorknob. "Oh, Edward, now she's afraid of me."

"Just leave her alone! She's got enough to deal with; Jasper will tell her what he did. Get in the damn car already." Davis laughed and got into his car. I watched and made sure the gate closed behind him as he drove out.

All the lights in my house were off except for the small kitchen light over our stove, and my dad's lamp in his office. I could hear my mom clanking around softly, cleaning something up, and the shuffling of my dad's papers. I couldn't decide who to talk to first. Tiptoeing down the hallway, I knocked softly before I entered. My dad looked up from his desk and smiled.

"Rosalie."

"Hi Dad, are you alright? You just kind of disappeared."

"I didn't want to witness anything like that. I had enough when he was in high school."

"I know what you mean, but don't you feel like there is something wrong here?"

"What are you talking about, honey?"

"He hasn't even so much as looked a drink in four and a half months, and with Bella coming in less than a week, he wouldn't do something like this." I messed with the hem of my shirt before looking back up at my dad.

"Honey, people make mistakes and this time he messed up big, it was just something that happened. There isn't anything to do about it now."

"Are you listening to what I'm saying? There is something majorly wrong here. I just went after them and Davis told me to ask what Jasper did, and then when Davis wouldn't let up, Edward said that Jasper would eventually tell me what he did wrong."

"You went after them?" he asked.

"Yes and-" he cut me off.

"Why?"

"Because what they did to Jasper was not right_." _

"They didn't do anything to him... and I see what you're trying to do honey, you're looking out for Jasper."

"No! I'm not! If he really did this, then I wouldn't be trying to defend him, but he _really _didn't. Just trust me on this, okay? I know my brother, and _this was not his fault._" My dad hit his hands on his desk.

"How do you know this, exactly?"

"I just do, okay?" I loved my dad, but he was being so thick headed.

"Rosalie, I know that you love him, but just accept it."

"No!" I shouted, standing up. "I will prove this to you!" I sat back down on the couch, and my dad went back to reading the papers on his desk. "I'm sorry for yelling."

"It's alright, honey. I understand you're upset, we all are."

"I'm going to go talk to Mom." I stood up.

"Alright, don't be too rough on her. She's having a bad night."

"I won't." I heard him clicking the keys on his keyboard as I walked out of the room.

My house was large, and the dark made it seem even bigger. As I walked down the long hallway, my eyes kept creating shadows in front of my face, making me pause every few seconds to see where I was. I successfully knocked over a small table and hit the wall once, but made it to my kitchen unharmed. My mom was sitting at the island, with her feet on the other chair drinking a glass of red wine. "Did you break anything on the way in here?" She asked; a small smile upon her face.

"I knocked over the table and hit the wall but I think everything is safe and sound. We should have painted the walls brighter colors, maybe it would reflect." She laughed.

"I'm sorry, sweetie. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I think I might have scratched the floor though." I threw in, trying to scare her. She was always so nervous the floor would get ruined.

"You didn't."

"No, I didn't. Are you okay?"

"Sure. I mean, I just thought…I don't know what I thought, but he seems to be okay now."

"I don't think he did this on his own."

"What do you mean?"

"I chased after Davis after you took Jasper upstairs," I paused. "I was yelling at Davis about how Jasper couldn't have gotten drunk on his own, and he said that I should be more worried about what Jasper did. And it obviously wasn't the drinking because he just explained what supposedly happened."

"I can see where you're coming from, but there just aren't enough facts to support what you're saying."

"When you took him upstairs, did he smell like liquor?" She thought for a moment, and then answered.

"Well, no, but I wasn't paying attention." I could tell she was having an 'aha' moment.

"See, I don't think he drank at all. I think something happened at that party that we don't know about."

"Rosalie, you have a very good point. But please don't go getting involved. If what you're saying is correct, then we have some idea what they are capable of." My mom also had a good point. With what I had just experienced outside, I had no desire to ever hear from him again.

"I feel like this is my fault." My mom said, setting her wine glass on the counter.

"Mom, you didn't know what was going to happen."

"But he didn't want to go, and I made him. I feel like such a failure as a mother."

"You were, and still are, a great mom. You were nothing but encouraging when we were kids." She grinned at me, and put her hair up.

"Thanks, hon. It's getting late. We should probably get up to bed now." She put her wine glass in the sink.

I walked very slowly up to my room, where I opened the white double doors that led inside. My room was navy, with white trim and dark brown floors. I had a monstrous white bed that I inherited from a relative, and we had my initials RSH engraved into the headboard. The bed sat against the back wall, opposite the window seat. My television was mounted to the wall, with a desk underneath. The favorite part of my room though, was the loft my parents had built for me. There was a white ladder that led to a large space that was painted a dark brown. There were several bookcases up there, which held all my favorite books. There was also a smaller couch and a recliner. I used to spend almost all my alone time there as a child. I hadn't been up there in a long time, but tonight I took refuge there.

When I woke up the next morning, it was cloudy. I made my way downstairs where my mom and Jasper were eating breakfast. Jasper looked a little out of it, but my mom looked better. I sat across from my mom. "Where's Dad?" I asked, taking a cinnamon roll off of the plate in the center of the table.

"He had to go to his office for a little while." My mom answered. "He should be home around 4."

"Oh, okay." I said, slowly eating my breakfast.

"What do you plan on doing today?" My mom asked.

"Well, I think Jasper and I need to go do some Christmas shopping." My mother looked appalled.

"You haven't done your Christmas shopping?"

"Well, I have most of it done, but I want to get a few more things."

"I think that's a good idea." Jasper said, standing up. "I'll go get ready."

An hour and a half later, we were pulling out of our driveway in my Range Rover. I was trying to keep my promise I had made back in September not to push him, but I was itching to ask him about last night.

"I don't really have anything to say about last night, except for the fact I didn't touch any alcohol. They did something to me, I swear."

"I know," I said, taking a left turn. "I went outside to catch up with Bennett last night after mom took you upstairs." I stopped at a red light, and he pulled down the visor mirror. He looked over the bruise on his cheek. He caught me looking at them. "They're worse on my stomach."

"Do you remember what happened?"

"Not really. I wish I could, all I can remember is that they gave me two drinks, and then my memory starts getting fuzzy. They took me into Davis' backyard and they keep talking about some money they said I stole."

"Did you steal before you left?"

"No, I didn't need to, especially not from my friends."

"Then what were they talking about?"

"I don't know, Rosalie." He sounded annoyed.

We separated as we entered the mall. Jasper didn't like to shop, and I loved to shop so it was easier just not to be together.

**JPOV**

I woke up the day after my birthday feeling extremely sore. Looking into my bathroom mirror, I saw an angry looking bruise on my left cheek, and my whole right side bruised. While I looked awful, I was glad that none of my teeth had been knocked out, or my ribs broken. My parents thought I had gotten wasted and believed whatever Davis had told them. I needed to find a way to make them believe whatever Davis had told them, wasn't true. Figuring breakfast was as good a time as any, I wondered downstairs.

My mom was pulling cinnamon rolls out of the oven when I walked into the kitchen. She was smiling until she looked at my face.

"Oh, Jasper, your face…" She set the pan on top of the stove and walked over towards me. "You poor baby." She traced the outline of the bruise on my cheek. I flinched, and she pulled her hand back. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you."

"It's okay," I said. "It wasn't too bad. What did they tell you happened?"

"Edward and Davis said you drank too much, and then you became angry at them when they told you to stop, and then you fell down the stairs."

"Bullshit." I said, without thinking.

"Jasper." She tried to make her voice stern, but she was smirking.

"Sorry, but that's not what happened at all!"

"I know. Rosalie talked to me last night, and she told me what she thought. I believe you."

"What did Rosalie say?"

"She just explained that there was no way you would have drunk, and that they must have done something to you. Is her theory correct?"

"For the most part; I don't remember exactly what happened. They gave me two cokes, and then my memory starts getting fuzzy. They took me to Davis' backyard, and then Edward drove me home."

"I'm so sorry I made you go." She said, almost about to cry.

"You didn't make me go. I went on my own. I just don't want to talk about it anymore, okay?"

"Alright, honey. We'll drop it."

"Thanks. These are really good by the way." I replied, with a mouth full of cinnamon bun.

I went with Rosalie to the mall and finished my Christmas shopping. _Only four days until Bella comes,_ I kept telling myself. I was worried about what she was going to think about my family. All she knew was that we were rich, from Texas, and were slightly dysfunctional. My mom was ecstatic for her arrival; she never liked any of the girls I used to bring home. Bella was different though, and she could tell. Bella coming to Texas made me smile; I really hoped it would be a good time.

Rosalie and I had our gifts wrapped at a department store and we left to go out to lunch. Rosalie told me Emmett was having a good time in Tennessee, and that he had just gotten back from a hunting trip where they gotten chased by a bear but escaped. I laughed loudly at that, even though it was a terrifying thought. But apparently though, he had gotten the biggest deer caught in his family in decades, which he was very proud of.

Before I knew it, it was Christmas Eve. My mom cooked a dinner big enough for an army. There was macaroni and cheese, ham, turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans and biscuits. She also made cake for dessert. Half way through dinner, our doorbell rang. "Ignore it." My father said, going back to dig into his meal. It rang twice more, and he became almost livid. "I'll get it, hon. It's probably just a delivery from someone in the family." She mom said, as she stood up and walked into the foyer. I could hear whispers in the hallway, and after a few minutes my mom came back and sat down.

"Everything alright, dear?" My dad asked.

"I think we should all make our way into the living room. There's someone here who wants to talk to us."

"Who is it?" I asked, feeling my phone vibrate. I clicked ignore, even though it was Bella.

"Everyone just stay calm... it's Edward. He wants to explain what happened."

"Excuse me, Caroline?" my father replied, standing up. "What gives him the right to come in, on our Christmas dinner and talk to us?"

"Rhett, I think you're going to want to hear this. Now please, just stay calm." My father threw his napkin on the table and stood up, stomping into the living room. Rosalie and my mom followed him. "Are you coming?" Rosalie asked.

"Yeah, I'll be there in a minute." My phone vibrated again and I sighed. I wasn't annoyed she was calling, but I didn't want to talk to her right now because I didn't want to take my mood out on her.

"Hello?"

"I just got your present."

"That's good." I said, pinching the bridge of my nose.

"What's the matter?" she asked.

"The situation here isn't going so well, and someone I didn't want to see just stopped by. I've got to go, but I can't wait until you get here. I'll call you later."

"Alright." She said, and she sounded sad.

"I love you." I hung up before she could say anything else.

I walked heavily into the living room, standing against the door frame. I looked at Edward, and he looked at my bruised face with a horrified look on his face. "Yeah, you did this and look, I'm giving you five minutes to explain, and then you're leaving. Do you understand?"

**Oh, Edward, what do you have to say now?**

**If anyone is wondering, I made Rosalie's name Rosalie Savannah Hale. I just like the way it sounded.**

**Reviews make my whole day! Until next time! **


	15. Chapter 15

**Thank you, thank you, thank you to all of those who put the story on alert, favorited it, or reviewed. It makes me feel great that after almost a month, people are still reading my story! I also posted some pictures of what Caroline, Rhett, Edward, Davis, their home, and their staircase is supposed to look like. When they go shopping and such, I'll post those outfits as well. Lemme know what you think!  
**

**My beta and I decided to go different ways, so I no longer have one, and I hope this chapter is okay because it is unbeta'ed. If anyone is interested, PM me and we can talk. :) **

**Cousin update: He has a lot of fluid around his right lung so he's not home yet. Should be soon, though! Okay, without further ado, here is the chapter most of you have been waiting for. Edward's explanation and Bella meeting the parents!  
**

**JPOV**

Edward stood in the middle of my living room, all of us glaring at him. "Jasper, come sit down." My mother looked at me with the look she gave us when we had done something wrong as children, but I didn't budge. "No thanks, mom, I'll stand." She turned away from me and looked at Edward. My hands were in fists at my side, and my jaw was clenched. It made my cheek hurt like hell, but I felt like it made me look angry. Edward looked intimidated as we all stared him down.

"Edward, sit down and tell us what you have to say." My mother suggested, being the perfect hostess she was.

He sat in one of the chairs we had in the corner, and ran his hands through his ruffled hair. "Well, first off, I want y'all to know that Jasper did not get drunk on his birthday when he was with us."

"Excuse me?" My father asked, his face remaining calm, but his voice showed he was becoming angry.

"I know. Davis and I lied about that. I have a long story to tell you all, and if you could all please just listen, I'll explain everything." None of us said anything so he continued. "A little before Jasper left, I had gotten into the habit of stealing. I didn't need to; I just did it because I was bored. One night I was at Davis' and he had just gotten some money from selling his grandmother's car, and he left it on the counter to take to the bank. I noticed it, and thought that it if I could get away with stealing that, I could get away with anything. Well, later that night, Jasper, Davis and I were all at Davis' apartment. I noticed the money was still on the counter. A girl named Kel came over that night." He paused for a minute and looked at me. "Do you remember that night?"

I thought for a minute. "Yeah, I do. Get on with the story, please."

"Okay, well, Davis and Kel went into Davis' room, and then Jasper told me about how he was going to leave for Charleston in a week to get away from life here. After awhile, Davis still hadn't come out of his room, so Jasper decided to leave. I followed him out to his car and told him bye. I went back inside and made sure Davis was in his room. I grabbed the money off the counter and took it to my car. I left a note on the back of the front door that I had to get home."

"Later that night, Davis called me and asked if I had seen the money. I told him that I didn't know what he was talking about. Then he asked me when Jasper left. I said that Jasper had left pretty quickly and he found that suspicious. I didn't really say anything to that, so he started to suspect I had something to do with it." He paused again.

"So you blamed the whole damn thing on me?" I yelled, becoming livid.

"I didn't have a choice! You obviously know what he's capable of! I thought since you were gone, it wouldn't make any difference!" He looked sorry, but I didn't give a shit at this point.

"Can I finish the story?"

"Absolutely not," I said. "I think it's time for you to go."

"Now, Jasper let him finish. He came all this way." My mother said. I clenched my jaw again.

"Fine, go ahead and finish."

"So once he started to suspect it was me, I told him that while he and Kel were in his room, Jasper went into the kitchen, and then left really hastily. I also told him that when I walked him out, he seemed pretty jumpy. He made the assumption that you had stolen the money because why would you leave so quickly? I never confirmed or denied his assumption, and he never really questioned it again. When he found out you were back in town, he wanted to get some payback. I honestly thought that he had forgotten about the whole ordeal, but I guess not. I never knew he would take it this far." He stopped talking and looked at me.

I looked back at him, trying to think coherently. All I could see was red, and I was ready to do the same as he had done to me. "I'm so sor—" He started.

"Stop talking, right now. I don't want to hear anything else that you have to say."

I decided the best thing to do at that moment was to leave the room. It was too cold to go outside, so my room was the best bet. I slammed my door when I reached it. I was trying with all my might not to go back downstairs and completely destroy him. The only positive thing I could get out of this was that both my parents now knew I didn't drink. I fell into my bed, pulling the covers over my head. Only two days until Bella came, and everything would feel right again.

I smiled at the thought of her coming home with me, staying in my house. No one came up to my room, which I was thankful for. I had also lost my appetite, so I didn't head back downstairs to finish eating. I fell asleep eventually, after I had called Bella, begging her to tell me stories about anything she wanted. I just wanted to hear her voice.

Waking up the next morning, I felt cold and realized that I had fallen onto the floor. I picked myself up and walked to my window. I saw that yet again, it was rainy. I liked the rain though, especially on Christmas. It made it feel more like winter, since it rarely snowed. The clock showed that it was 9AM. I showered before I went downstairs, where my mom was making Christmas breakfast. My dad was reading the paper. "Where's Al?" I said, referring to Rosalie.

"I'm not sure. She hasn't come down yet." My mom answered, adding a cup of water to the grits.

My dad cleared his throat and I looked over towards him. This was his way of getting our attention. I raised my eyebrows at him. "I'm sorry I didn't believe you."

"It's okay, Dad, I probably wouldn't either if I were you."

"Right, well, glad that's settled." He went back to reading his paper, and that was his way of changing the subject. As much as I hated Edward, I was halfway glad for his visit; he made my parents believe me. I wasn't sure how long he had stayed after I went upstairs, and I didn't know what else he had said. I didn't care to know. When Rosalie finally made it downstairs, my dad huffed at her pajamas. She had on a Tennessee football jersey. "What?" she asked, sitting down next to me.

"Tennessee? Really? In this house? You know I hate them." My dad said, with a smile on his face as he lifted the paper back up.

"Oh, Dad…" She laughed, and I saw my mom roll her eyes.

We laughed while we ate, and talked about old Christmases. My mom questioned about Bella even more, until there wasn't anything else to say. We moved into the living room, where we opened presents. I handed everyone their gifts. Rosalie got new clothes, new shoes, some money and some books. My dad only had a few things, but my mom got him a contractor for the theater he had wanted built since we were kids. To say he was excited would be an understatement. I got a new guitar, which I was completely in love with and some other little nick knacks. It was a quiet Christmas, we spent the day watching old home movies of us as kids. It made me want to leave even sooner, to be honest.

I stayed up late on the 25th, just so I wouldn't wake up too early and have to entertain myself until it was time to pick up Bella. When I did wake up, it was 12 and I almost fell down the stairs I was so wound up. I ended up knocking over my drink, falling over the chair, and almost missing my seat when I sat down. "What is wrong with you?" Rosalie said, cleaning up my mess.

"I'm wound up because today is the day Bella comes." She arched an eyebrow.

"Are you that nervous?"

"A little. I'm also excited." I was practically bouncing off the seat.

"Are you alright to drive?"

"Yes!" I said, going to shower. My mom was cleaning the kitchen for the umpteenth time that week. "I think I should get the privilege of coming with you to the airport." I heard her yell, as I entered the hallway.

"No, I don't think so." I said, running back into the kitchen, tripping over my dog. "Oh, sorry, Lucy." I said, looking down.

"Why not? And please don't kill the dog." She asked, throwing the paper towels into the trash.

"I don't want to overwhelm her and now I'm running late and I still have to shower!" I practically ran out the door before she could say anything else. 20 minutes later, I was dressed in some black shorts, new Nike kicks, and my long sleeved College of Charleston t shirt. I ran down the stairs without knocking anything down, where my mom was waiting in the kitchen. "Where's your jacket?" she asked.

"I don't need one. I'm not even going to be outside for that long."

"You need one. Your hair is still wet." I ran back upstairs, grabbed my North Face, and came back down.

"Better?" I asked, tugging on the zipper.

"Yes, very much, be careful, the roads are slippery!"

"Bye, Mom!" I walked very briskly out the door. I started my car and drove the long drive to the airport, hoping Bella's flight wasn't already landed. I parked in the parking garage, making sure the horn on my car honked twice before I walked inside. The airport was beyond packed; it took me forever to get to where her plane was landing. After about 20 minutes, her flight landed and it seemed like she was the last one off the plane. I waited patiently until I saw her familiar brown hair. I called out her name and she looked towards me.

She ran towards me, and I held out my arms. She jumped into them and I held her up while I hugged her. The people watching probably thought we hadn't seen each other in years, but it had only been a week and a half. After a few minutes of hugging her, she pulled back and I set her down. I realized that my side was throbbing, where she had run into me. "Oh, my God." She said, reaching up to touch my cheek. "What happened?"

"It's a long story." I said, taking her hand away from my face and holding it instead.

"Will you tell me later?"

"Yes," I said, leaning into kiss her. I pulled back after a few seconds. "And you're sunburned. How did you manage to get sunburned during Christmas Break?"

"I don't know. And I live on the coast. Isn't that embarrassing?" I laughed as I kissed her again. We walked hand in hand out to my car. She stopped 10 feet before we got to it. "What's the matter?" I asked.

"That's your car?" She said loudly.

"Yes, it is." I popped the trunk and put her bags inside. She groaned.

"Oh, my God, that probably costs more than my first year's tuition."

"I don't think it was quite that much." She walked towards it and looked at it.

"You didn't tell me I was going to be so out of place!" I walked toward her, pulling her to me.

"You won't be. I promise. My parents are going to love you." I placed a small kiss atop her head and she pulled away.

"You're sure?" She asked.

"Absolutely, now come on, it's cold out here."

When she got into my car, she didn't say anything. I would be kind of stunned too if I was her. She knew I had money, but she wasn't sure how much. I held her hand on the way to my house. I pointed out things of interest and she smiled the whole way. She was in the middle of a story when we pulled up to the gate that led to my driveway. "Oh, boy, couldn't you have warned me?"

"Sorry." She looked up in awe at my childhood home. "It's not as impressive on the inside." That was a lie, but I hoped it would make her feel better. I pulled into the garage which was a mistake because she saw my mom's car, my dad's car and Rosalie's car. "I promise it's going to be fine. Just because we have money, we're still normal people." She nodded. "We can get your stuff out later." She got out of the car and waited for me. I took her hand and led her inside.

We walked into the kitchen and she took a minute to look around. I could feel her nervousness. She smiled up at me, trying to disguise whatever she was feeling, but her facial expressions betrayed her. "I think my parents are in the living room. I'll give you a tour in a bit." I led her through the butler's pantry, into the dining room, and finally into the hallway and into the living room.

If I hadn't grown up in this house, the living room would be huge. The walls were dark beige and the ceiling was the same color, with white beams that went across it, creating large squares. The tree was still in the corner, but the garland had been replaced with navy and white lights, which we always put up for New Year's. I smiled so brightly that my cheeks hurt and my mom smiled just as radiantly.

My mom pulled Bella away from me and spun her around. "Oh, my goodness, girl! You are gorgeous! I'm so glad Jasper brought you here for New Year's!" She hugged Bella tightly. Bella looked a bit stunned, but happy nonetheless. "I'm sorry, Bella! Where are my manners? I'm Caroline, and this is my husband, Rhett. We are so very pleased to meet you!"

"Caroline, let the poor girl breathe." My dad stepped up, hugging her as well. "We've heard so many things about you."

"All good things, I hope." Bella replied. "Your home is very beautiful."

"Thank you. Caroline is quite the decorator." My mother beamed. "Please sit down!"

She sat down with me on the couch and my parents settled on the love seat, and Rosalie was in the recliner.

"So Bella," my mom began, "Won't you please tell us about yourself?"

"Yes, well as you know, I go to The College of Charleston with Jasper and Rosalie. My mom lives in Jacksonville, with her new husband, Phil, who was transferred there from Phoenix for a promotion. My dad lives in Washington in a small town called Forks, where he's the police chief. I'm an English major, and I hope to teach high school when I'm finished."

"Oh, well that's positively wonderful! I bet your parents miss you, don't they? You're so far from your dad."

"Yes, they do, but I'm sure you miss Jasper and Rosalie as well."

"Well, all parents are the same." My mom smiled brightly at her, and my father winked.

"I think so."

"We are so glad to welcome you into our home! I was so excited when I talked to your mom and she said that it would be great if you came out here."

"I didn't even know about it! Renee, my mom, didn't even tell me or hint to me that she knew. I was very excited when they delivered the ticket. You shouldn't have gotten it, though, it cost so much."

"Well, it was Jasper's idea, and we were so excited to finally meet you that we just had to. We got you something small, as well."

"Oh, no, you didn't!" Bella looked mortified. My parents were really overdoing it.

"Mom, you didn't." I said.

"Just something little." She handed Bella a box. Bella unwrapped it, and pulled off the top. It was a Texas Longhorns t shirt, with matching pajama pants. Bella smiled at everyone. "Welcome to Texas, Bella!" my dad said.

"I hope they fit. Allie and I picked them out together." My mother said, smiling. "We love to shop." Knowing my mom and sister, there was underlying meaning in those words.

**I have the next chapter done, so it should be posted soon! Let me know how I did with both meetings, reviews are fantastic! **


	16. Chapter 16

**Thanks to all of those who reviewed, favorited, and added my story to alerts. You all make me so happy! I've also added pictures of the cars they own on my profile. I should update Saturday night, so until then!**

**BPOV**

Jasper's house was beautiful, his car was beautiful, and his family was beautiful. Jesus, everything about him was beautiful. I felt so out of place walking into his home. He led me through 3 different rooms before we reached his living room. To say his mother looked perfect would be a lie. She looked better than perfect. She did look just like an older Rosalie. She had a thick Southern twang and I could tell where Jasper got his from. She pulled me into a hug immediately, which I didn't expect. All my fears just floated away. I had a feeling my stay here was going to be great. Rosalie smiled at me from the corner. I couldn't wait to talk to her, I had missed her so much.

"Has Jasper shown you around yet, sweetie?" his mother asked.

"No, Mrs. Hale. He hasn't."

"Please! Call me Caroline. And where are my family's manners? Goodness! You'd think we were cavemen. Jasper, show the girl around!" I laughed. "And if you'll please excuse me, I'm going to go start dinner. I hope you like fried chicken!" She waltzed out of the room.

"Don't mind her. She's just so excited to have you here." His dad said. "If you need anything, please don't hesitate to ask." I smiled.

"Thank you so much." He left the room, heading in the same direction his wife had gone.

"Jasper," Rosalie said. "Go talk to Mom and Dad. I'll show Bella around."

"_I_ want to show her around." Jasper replied.

"Well, I need girl time, so get." She took me by the arm and dragged me out of the room. "I assume you've already seen the kitchen, dining room and garage?" I nodded. We walked into the hallway. "Okay, down this hallway, you have my dad's office," she pointed to her left. "And on your right, we have the laundry room. There's a guest bedroom that way. We turned a corner and went into a basement, well, it was more like a third or first floor, whatever way you want to look at it. There was a kitchenette space with black granite counter tops, a fridge, a sink, a bar and a table. The basement was painted a pretty yellow, with dark hardwood floors. We walked to a huge room with a large screen on one wall, but other than that, it was empty.. "This is going to be our theater."

"A theater?" I asked.

"Mhm," she hummed. "Dad's always wanted one."

We walked back out into the main space where there were glass doors that led outside. There's our pool, but it's drained for the winter. We can go out to the hot tub later though. We walked back up to the hallway. After she showed me the rest of the first floor, we went up the stairs. She opened the first door on the right, which was a huge bedroom. It was painted a lovely chocolate brown. The bed was placed in the center of one wall, with a white duvet. There was a dresser with a mirror, a folding screen in the corner, and a TV on the wall. "Your house is so big!" I said. She laughed. "This is the room where you'll be staying." She turned on the light in the attached bathroom. I was stunned, I had never dreamed of a house this big. The frat houses in Charleston were grand and majestic, but to live here with four people, was a travesty to me.

We walked back out of the room, where she showed me her bedroom. We passed another bedroom, and she stopped in front of Jasper's door. "I'll let him show you his room by himself." She winked and I blushed. We walked down a small hallway and up three stairs into a large room. There was a humongous TV on the wall, with a leather sectional sofa in the center of the room. "This room is kind of pointless, but my parents used it as a playroom when we were smaller." All I could do was say "oh."

We went back into her room, and she showed me her loft where we sat and talked. _Who'd ever heard of having a loft in their bedroom?_

"Did you notice Jasper's bruise on his face?" She asked me. Suddenly, the atmosphere got a hell of a lot darker.

"Yes, I did. What in the world happened?"

"I'll give you a brief rundown. One of his old friends blamed him for something he didn't know about, and they gave him 'pay back.' I don't want to say anything else because I'm sure he wants to tell you himself."

"Oh, god, was anything broken?" I grimaced, I wasn't sure I wanted to hear the answer.

"Luckily, no."

"That's good, I guess. That's terrible it even happened in the first place."

"I know, and now my mom is blaming herself because she wanted him to go so badly."

"Has everything calmed down?" I asked. It seemed like it, but I also got the impression that his mom was good at putting up appearances.

"Yeah," she said. "It's all good now." She smiled. "Edward came by on Christmas Eve and explained to my parents that Jasper didn't drink, so I think we're finally back on the right track." I didn't want to push it any further, because I wanted to hear the whole story from Jasper.

"Have you heard from Emmett?"

"Yes! He's been on a couple of hunting trips with his family, and he sent me a football jersey with his name on the back of it. Cheesy, but I like it."

"Aw, that's sweet. Hm, Emmett hunting…I can't see it."

"He said they almost got attacked by a bear." My hand flew to my mouth and I started giggling. I could just see big, huge, strong Emmett running from a bear.

"I know," she said. "It's a hilarious mental image." Rosalie's phone vibrated and she picked it up. "Dinner's ready. We should go downstairs." We headed downstairs, where each one of our plates was set at the formal dining room table.

"Get as much as you want, sweetheart. There's even more in the kitchen." Caroline said.

"Okay. Where should I sit?" I asked.

"Anywhere you'd like!" I picked up the plate from the right side of the table. I piled from food on it and sat down. "What would you like to drink?" His father asked. "We have water, Coke, Dr. Pepper, Lemonade and Sweet Tea."

"I'd like Sweet Tea, please." Ever since I had moved to Charleston, I had really grown to like Sweet Tea. I now understood why everyone loved it down here. He handed me a large glass and we all began to eat. I noticed they didn't pray, which I found odd. He told me that his parents had always gone to church. His parents told me stories about Jasper from when he was little, along with stories about Rosalie. I discovered Rosalie had done ballet and pageants as a child and Jasper played piano and guitar.

Their family seemed so perfect, but the only thing that kept me from feeling jealous was the fact I had encountered Jasper's problem. I knew their secret, and now I was more than glad they had all recovered. I had never laughed so hard over a dinner in my life, and never had I eaten more wonderful food. We all finished eating, and I brought my plate into the kitchen. Jasper's mom started clearing everything into the trash, and loading the dishes into the dishwasher, so I began to help.

"Oh, honey! You don't need to do that. Go on and sit down with everyone else."

"Mrs. Ha…Caroline," I blushed at calling her that. I would have preferred Mrs. Hale, but she wouldn't even let me get it out. "You just made that fantastic dinner and are letting me stay here for the next week. It's the least I can do." She smiled.

"You're so different from the girls Jasper used to bring home. I'll never forget it, at the beginning of his junior year of high school; he brought home this girl named Maria. She was very beautiful; there isn't any doubt about that, but she was absolutely barbaric! She didn't say thank you, she didn't even attempt to call me Mrs. Hale, I don't even think she addressed me. When we were in the middle of dinner, she even burped and didn't even say excuse me! And don't even get me started on the comments she made! I think I even went to church afterward because of the things she said. We eventually kicked her out, but my goodness, it was awful." I laughed at her story. I heard someone come in and I turned and saw Jasper. I smiled brightly.

"Mom, you're hogging Bella."

"Oh, no, she's not." I replied, grinning at him. "I was hearing stories about the atrocious girls you used to bring home."

"Sorry Jas, I told her about Maria."

"Oh, God," He groaned, running his hand across his face. "You didn't."

"I'm afraid she did." I laughed. "It was a great story."

"I think we're finished in here." Caroline said, and we all headed out into the living room.

Around 10, Jasper's parents headed to their room, and Rosalie went upstairs to watch TV. Jasper and I were left on the couch, where he sat against the arm. "I really want to hold you, but my right side is all bruised up."

"Are you going to tell me what happened?" I questioned, adjusting my legs to sit Indian style.

"Did Rosalie not already tell you?"

"Nope, she didn't." I popped the 'p' sound.

"Okay, well, I think you should know. My friends from high school called the night before my birthday, and talked to my mom. They told her that they wanted me to come over to celebrate my birthday so to please her, I went. Edward, one of my friends, let Davis, the other friend of mine; beat me up for something I didn't do." I was horrified. _Who the hell would do something like that? And what kind of name was Edward, anyway?_

"How did they manage to beat you up?" I was truly interested. Jasper always seemed so strong.

"Well, my memory gets kind of fuzzy but I just remember they gave me two drinks and I started feeling…not myself, I guess." I moved so that I was sitting in his lap, one of my knees on each side of his hips. I was careful not to touch his right side. I ran my hands over his cheeks, frowning.

"So this happened almost a week ago and you still have bruises?"

"They've healed a lot, but they were pretty bad to start with."

"Are you sure there's nothing broken?"

"Yes, Bells, I'm sure." We sat looking at each other for a moment, before I spoke up.

"I really like your mom. She's sweet."

"If you would have grown up with her, you'd say something different." He replied, smirking a bit.

"Oh, really," I wondered aloud. "Why is that?"

"She was like…" he paused for a moment, and I could tell from his facial expression that he was trying to think of words to describe his mom. "Too perfect to be a mom, I suppose. I enjoyed my childhood, but sometimes I just wanted drama and wanted to misbehave, and when I did, she would just cave and go with what I wanted. In some people's eyes, she would be a perfect mom for children, just not for me. I was closer to my Dad, he actually would punish me." All I could do was nod.

"Did it weird you out that she's so open?"

"Not at all, I love both your parents already."

"I think they feel the same about you." He replied, kissing my forehead.

"I'm glad. I see your tastes have changed." I smiled at him and started laughing.

"Let's not talk about that." His cheeks turned red, which made me laugh even more. "What's so funny?" he asked me.

"You're actually blushing. Did you bring girls home that were _that _bad?"

"It's getting pretty late," he said, ignoring my question, but smiling while he did so. "We should get your things and get you settled. I have a suspicion that Rosalie and my mom want to take you shopping tomorrow." I yawned. We walked to his car to grab my stuff, and took it upstairs. He stood on the opposite side of the door, with his hands on the top of the door frame. I knew he was tall, but I never realized he was _that _tall.

"You know something?" He smirked.

"I'm sure I do, but what?"

"I never realized you were _that _small, and to answer your question, yes, I didn't have the best taste in girls back then." I giggled and he leaned down and pecked my lips. "Goodnight, little one."

"Goodnight." I replied, shutting the door. I rummaged through my bag, finding my face wash, hair band, and toothbrush and went into the bathroom. I shut the door behind me even though I knew no one was in the room with me; I liked my privacy. I pulled my hair out of the bun and shook out the brunette mess atop my head. As I looked in the mirror, I realized I really needed a trim. My hair hung down by back, halfway to my waist. Leaving my things on the counter, I left the bathroom light to see into the bedroom to grab my pajamas. Finding my sports bra and the pajamas Jasper's family had given me, I went back into the bathroom to finish my nightly routine.

"Nice pajamas." I heard Jasper say, somewhere in the dark. I had to bite my tongue to keep from screaming. Then I heard the covers move so I knew he was in the bed.

"Jasper Harrison Hale!" I was trying to keep from laughing, but my heart was still pounding from being scared to death. "You better never do that again! God, I swear my heart stopped."

"I'm sorry," he snickered. "I should have turned the light on. Are you mad?"

"Yes!"

"No, you're not. You're trying not to laugh."

"Only so I don't slap you into next week!"

"Whatever you say, will you please just come sleep with me?" I laughed at the absurdity of that statement.

"That sounded bad," he continued. "Will you _literally _lay down with me and fall asleep? I think I've been scolded enough." I sighed and climbed into bed. I snuggled into him as he held me.

"It was not that funny, Jasper. You can stop smirking now." I smiled as I fell asleep.

I woke up the next morning to someone jumping on my bed. I opened one eye to see Rosalie, whose hair was in some type of bun atop her head, shaking the bed I was currently trying to sleep in. "I saw that." She said. "You're awake."

"No, you didn't. You're hallucinating." I replied, and then I sat straight up because I thought Jasper was still beside me.

"What?" She asked. "Do I look that bad in the mornings?" She got off the bed to look in the bathroom.

"No," I yelled. "You don't look bad at all. What are you so excited for that you have to come into my room, and jump on my bed to wake me up?"

"We're going shopping today!"

"What?" I replied, in a very flat tone.

"Yes! You heard me! We're going shopping. My parents are having their annual New Year's party, and we need to go get all the supplies and such, plus, we all need to get new outfits for it! And don't even think about paying, Mom's already stated that she's covering everything."

"At least let me pay for half of it."

"She wouldn't hear of it." She replied, hitting my legs through the blanket. "Now get up and get ready! We're leaving at 8!"

"What time is it right now?" I asked, throwing the blanket off of me.

"7!" She skipped out of the room, smiling at me when she closed the door.

An hour later, I had showered, eaten breakfast, gotten dressed, no actually, more like been dressed by Rosalie, and been corralled into Rosalie's mom's car. Rosalie was sitting with me in the back. "Alright, girls, are you ready to do some shopping?" Caroline asked excitedly.

"Yeah, Mom, I think we should go to Chanel first." My jaw almost dropped to the floor. Even I knew what Chanel was, and what it cost.

"Oh, Rosalie, that sounds like a wonderful idea."

**I've been given an idea for a new story that I might write after this one is finished, but school is starting VERY soon which makes me nervous to start anything because I would hate to leave it unfinished. Let me know what you guys think I should do. **

**Two new (to the story), familiar characters will be introduced next chapter. Anyone have any ideas as to who they are? Leave me a review guessing! Thanks for reading! **


	17. Chapter 17

**Hello lovelies! This chapter isn't as long as the other ones, but I hope it suffices. It was originally about 3,500 words and I just felt like it was too much for one chapter.**

**I reached over 100 on people who have added this story to alerts and favorites and I honestly cannot thank y'all enough! So I'm thinking one or two more chapters of this story, and it'll be finished. No need to drag it out :) I'll also work on an epilogue for it. Their outfits are on my profile. **

**BPOV**

"How does that sound, Bella?" Rosalie asked, turning and looking at me. _Expensive, ritzy, uppity, pricey and costly is how it sounds. _"It sounds…interesting." I cringed at my choice of adjective. She laughed and went back to talking about the party with Caroline.

"So Mom, who's all invited to the party this year?"

"The Williamsons, The Smiths, The Sykes, The Brocks, Rob Wylie, The Bentleys, Jen Gillespie and a couple others I can't remember at the moment."

"Did you invite Peter and Charlotte?" Rosalie asked, leaning forward to adjust the radio.

"I did, actually, well, their parents were invited but their names were on the invitations.I hope it doesn't turn out as badly as Davis and Edward." Caroline replied.

"It won't. I've been talking to them through the school year through text and stuff, but I haven't talked to them since break started. How are Mr. and Mrs. Jameson? After her mother had answered, she turned to me. "Those are Charlotte's parents. Wait, mom, and how are the Hamptons? Those are Peter's parents." She said, nodding toward me.

"They're doing well, the last time I saw them was when Charlotte's mom had the annual Halloween party."

"Oh! Charlotte told me about that. How was it?"

"It was the same as every year." Rosalie nodded and looked at me again.

"Peter and Charlotte are my two friends that I've known since I was 7, and basically they've been a couple since birth. They're inseparable, the two for one kind of deal. I think you're really going to like them and vice versa."

"Fun," I said, and I meant it. We pulled up to Chanel and went inside. It seemed like we there forever, but in actuality it was only 20 minutes. This was going to be the longest day of my life. We went to four more shops before we found anything. At the 5th boutique, the lady was pulling dresses for Caroline, and we had said no to every single one. The black strapless one was too plain, the red sleeveless was too bright, and the blue one shoulder was too decorated.

As we were about to walk out, the same lady brought out one more dress and we all fell in love with it instantly. It was a white dress that fell just above the knee and was fitted. It hooked behind the neck, giving it a halter top look. The dress had a textured look to it, and it just screamed _Caroline Hale! _She tried it on even though we knew that was the only dress she would even have to look at it. It fit her shape in all the right places, and although she wasn't even 45 yet, it made her look 10 years younger.

Rosalie found her a pair of black pumps that I would have killed myself in, and we paid and left the store. The amount of money she spent made my heart stop, and we hadn't even gotten Rosalie's or my outfit. A few minutes later we were inside a new shop, where Rosalie walked straight up to a shirt. It was silk, with a low back, and the collar was flowers that wrapped around her neck, coming back down to the front of the shirt. As weird as it sounds, the shirt was gorgeous. Only someone like her could have pulled it off. She found a black pencil skirt that came a little bit higher than mid thigh, and it made an excellent outfit. Black and white was turning out to be the theme of the evening. She tried the outfit on while Caroline and I went looking for shoes.

After a few minutes of searching, I came across a pair of black peep toe pumps. They were 100% suede, with a rose that matched the collar of her shirt. I called Caroline over, and she smiled brightly at me. "I knew you liked fashion. These are perfect. Al will love them." We picked them up and brought them to Rose. She tried them on, and looked beautiful as always. Caroline suggested that she should wear tights, but Rosalie and I agreed it looked better without them.

I found that I was having more fun than I expected. Caroline was so…warm. Her laughter was contagious, and seeing Rosalie with her just might have made me the happiest person in Dallas.

"We need to find Bella an outfit, Mom." Rosalie said, searching for dresses.

"I know." Caroline replied, looking me over.

"I'm thinking white for her as well. It will set off the rosiness of her cheeks, and the darkness of her hair." Rosalie said, turning me around. Jesus, I felt like Barbie, but to be honest, I didn't mind it as much as I thought I would.

"I was just thinking the same thing, Al." Caroline said. I smiled as I went to look with them. A few minutes later, Rosalie pulled a white one shouldered dress off the hanger. It was fitted around the waist and fell a little bit lower than Rosalie's. There was detailing on the chest, and while it was one of the most beautiful dresses I had ever seen, I thought it was over the top. "Are you sure that's me?" I questioned.

"Absolutely, you're going to love it when you put it on, and Jasper's going to love it even more."

"Rosalie's right, dear." Caroline said, handing me the dress. "Go try it on."

I went into the large dressing room, and pulled the dress on. They were right, I did love it, and I had a feeling Jasper would too. I waited a minute before walking out. I hadn't ever felt this pretty, and I wanted to enjoy it. Curiosity getting the best of me, I looked at the price tag and gasped. It was 800 dollars. "Bella, what are you doing in there?" Rosalie called.

"I'm coming right now." I walked out and everyone near us smiled and or gasped. It made my self esteem shoot through the roof. "Oh, honey! I love it!" Caroline said.

"God, I love it when I'm right." Rosalie said, smirking. "You look great." I turned and looked in the 360 degree mirror and lit up again. "I really like it." I said.

"Good," Caroline replied, sweeping me up in a hug. "Let's go find you shoes." We picked out some navy blue pumps with a bow on the end. As cheesy as they sound, the shoes were really cute. I just needed practice to walk in them. We paid, after an argument with Caroline, which I lost because she paid for everything in the end. We went and picked up decorations, cups and plates, and made sure the cake Caroline had put in an order for was being finished correctly. We ate lunch together and talked for a long time. When we finally headed back to the house, it was almost six.

**RPOV**

I was so excited to have Bella here. I couldn't wait to go shopping with her and my mom. My mom threw an extravagant New Year's party every year and almost everyone we knew came. Over the years, it became an insult if you weren't invited. We all found the perfect dresses to wear and I couldn't wait to wear mine. I looked _amazing. _It was too bad Emmett wasn't here to see me.

Another reason I was so excited for the party was because Peter and Charlotte were coming. Charlotte had been my best friend since we were little. Bella hadn't replaced her exactly, but Bella was definitely my best friend now, and I hoped she knew that. Peter and Jasper were the same age and got along very well. It would do Jasper some good to see him after so long. I wasn't sure if Jasper had even spoken to him since he left. Someone knocked on my door and I yelled come in.

"Hey Al, Peter just called. He wants to hang out." Jasper said, coming in my room.

"And?" I asked.

"Do you think I should? I mean, after what happened last time, I'm kind of hesitant."

"I think you should. I've stayed in touch with him and Charlotte while we've been away and they're just the same as they were before we left."

"Oh, okay. Then I guess I'll do something."

"That's great."

"Just do me one favor while I'm gone."

"Sure, what?" I asked.

"Please don't torture Bella while I'm gone. I'm sure she's had enough with the shopping yesterday."

"We won't." I replied.

**JPOV**

Bella and I were sitting upstairs when my phone rang. She was almost asleep; we had stayed awake late last night talking. "Hello?" I said, quietly.

_Hey, it's Pete._

"Pete who?" Right after the words came out of my mouth, I realized who it was. "Oh, hey!"

He laughed. _Has it been that long?" _

"Yeah, it has."

_Well, what are you doing today? Charlotte told me you and Rose are back for break and you brought your girlfriend. _

"Yeah, we're home."

_Awesome, well, I was wondering if you'd like hang out. _

"Sure, I'm up for anything."

_I'm about to be leaving Charlotte's, so do you wanna go hit some balls at the driving range?_

"Sounds good, I'll go find my clubs."

_Sweet, see you in about an hour._

"Okay, bye." I pressed end and woke Bella up enough to move her into her room.

"Where are you going?" she asked, when she was settled into the bed.

"I'm going to hang out with Peter for a little while, but I'll be back."

"Please don't get beat up again." She said, closing her eyes. I smiled.

"I won't." I said, slowly walking out the door and to Rosalie's room.

After I had talked to Rosalie, I felt better about going to the driving range with Peter. I couldn't find my clubs anywhere, so I knocked on my dad's office door. He looked up from the papers he was sorting through. "Hey Jasper, come on in."

"Hey, Peter just called me and wants to meet up at the driving range, but I don't know where my clubs are. Do you know where they are?"

"Yeah, they're up in the attic."

"Okay, thanks." I said, heading to go back out the door.

"Hey, Jay, wait a second. I just wanted to tell you that I'm really proud of you." Wow, if this situation wasn't getting more awkward by the moment, then I didn't know what awkward was. "And I really like Bella, she's good for you."

"Thanks, Dad." He smiled at me and I walked out to find my clubs.

45 minutes later I was pulling up to Golden Bear Driving Range, where I saw Pete's Tahoe. It was an older model, but he had gotten it from his parents when he started driving. I parked beside him, and got out. I stood in front of my car, and glad I had chosen to wear a pair of khaki pants, a white long sleeved shirt and my dark green Northface Denali jacket. Pete got out of his car, wearing black pants and a gray pull over. He clapped me on the back. "It's good to see you." We hit a couple rounds and he brought up my mom's New Year's party. "You excited about your mom's party?"

"Eh," I debated. "Not really, but I know my mom is, because she gets to show all of us off to everyone she knows."

"Yeah, I see what you mean."

"You and Charlotte are coming though, right?"

"Absolutely." It was good to talk to someone wholesome and I was glad that I had decided to go. I couldn't help but be happy that Bella was the one who had gotten me here. We finished and we walked back to our cars. After Pete left, I waited a second before leaving. I was reflecting on the last two and a half years. It started when I met Edward and Davis, and then it got worse when I met Maria. _God, even her name left a bad taste in my mouth. _I hit bottom when I started blacking out, and hoped Charleston would help. The first time around, it didn't, but now I was right where I wanted to be.

On New Year's, I woke up to chaos. Bella was thrown into the middle of it, and I tried to pull her out a couple times, but I've learned in my 20 years of life that when my mom and Rosalie want something done, you just don't try to interfere. My Dad and I were banished to finish running errands and then to find something else to entertain us for the day. _Great, _I thought, _Dad and Jas bonding time. _

**Only a couple of chapters left until the end! I should update on Monday! Reviews are always sweet to read :) **


	18. Chapter 18

**Hello all! I want to thank you all SO much for reviewing, favoriting, reading, and whatever else you can possibly to do this story. It makes me SO happy! Hope you like this chapter!**

**Cousin update: My sweet little cousin came home today! We are so thankful because he had fluid around his lungs they were worried about.**

**Their hairdos, Peter, Charlotte, and Charlotte's outfit are on my profile.  
**

**RPOV**

The day before New Year's Eve, my mom decided we should all go get our nails done. I got my toes painted a dark red, and my nails French manicured. My mom got a French manicure on both her hands and feet. Bella was apprehensive at first, but eventually settled on bright red for her feet and black for her nails. I agreed with her nail choice, it would offset her dress perfectly. I worried about her a little bit for tomorrow, Mom always called in a hair dresser and had our hair done before the party along with our makeup.

We woke up early on New Year's Eve, and it was hard to believe that Bella had been here 5 days. My parents adored her, and I was glad. Bella and I walked down the stairs together, followed by Jasper. My dad was sitting at the kitchen table, reading the paper as always. He smiled up at all of us. My mom was dressed and ready for the day, but she was still cooking breakfast. "We're having French toast this morning," she said. "I hope that's alright." We all nodded eagerly. After that, everything went to chaos.

"In a hurry today, Mom?" I asked, getting a plate out of the cabinet.

"Yes, I've got lots of stuff to do so I went ahead and got dressed so I can leave right after everyone has their food. But Al, I need you to get the dresses from alterations, pick up the cake, and be here when the caterer gets here, please. He will be here at three, and the hair stylists will be here at four, and the makeup people will be here at 5." I noticed my mom was watching Jasper sneak Bella out of the room. "Jasper Harrison, you get back here right this second. There are things she needs to be here for. _You, _on the other hand, go with your father and run errands for tonight and then find something to do. Just stay out of our way!" Bella laughed and moved back into the kitchen. Mom turned her attention back to me.

"Got it," I said. I was used to doing things like this, but on the other hand Bella wasn't. I wanted to laugh when I looked at her face. The day passed quickly, and we made it home just as the caterer was pulling in. I didn't understand why I had to be here, Jas and my dad were here, or so I thought. As I walked in the kitchen, there was a note on the counter. _Went and played golf, be home by 6. Jas and Dad. And tell Bella Jasper said he's sorry for leaving her with you. _She laughed when she read the note. At 4, my mom got home and the hair people arrived shortly after.

Bella's hair was curled into waves that fell around her face. They had parted her hair down the middle, and the waves were almost ringlets at the top and fell apart as they got longer. I was envious of her hair, and I regretted my decision on what I was wearing because I would have to wear my hair up. _I was so vain. _After I thought about it for a minute, I realized I was glad my hair was going to be up; it would be less to worry about. They pulled it back, with a few strands lying by my face. It was held in place by a beautiful ivory barrette. It looked like it was going to fall out at any moment, and that's what I loved. Mom had her hair blown out, with the bottoms curled in. The top was slightly teased, and she looked great.

My make up was simple, with heavy mascara and a little bit of eyeliner and clear lip gloss finished it off. Bella's was different though. She never wore much makeup, and she told them she wanted something different. They gave her a smoky eye look, with blush and tinted red lip gloss. We all put on our dresses on, and by the time we were all finished with everything, it was time for the party to start. Mom had the photographer take a picture of us girls at the end of the staircase, and then one with Jasper and Dad with us.

**BPOV**

This party was going to be more extravagant than I ever thought possible. Her mom had even hired makeup stylists. I had never been to a big party like this, and I was excited. I felt plain next to Rosalie though, once we were all dressed. I had to wait at the top of the stairs until Rosalie yelled I could come down. Rosalie helped me practice walk in my shoes, and I had (mostly) gotten the hang of it. I paused at the top of the stairs, smiling down. Jasper was waiting at the bottom and he looked as good as Rosalie did, if not better.

He had on black pants with a light blue - gray Ralph Lauren button down shirt that he had rolled the sleeves up to his elbow. He had on some type of moccasin looking shoes that I noticed a lot of people had back in South Carolina, they were called Wallabees or something, and his hair was in perfect disarray. The blonde curls were going everywhere, and I loved it. Jasper smiled at me brightly as I very carefully maneuvered myself down the stairs. He wrapped his arms around me as I got to the bottom. "Wow, you look…fantastic." He murmured into my hair. "Maybe I should leave you with Rosalie more often." I swatted his arm.

"Not that you don't look great anyway." He added, after a moment.

"Thanks, Jas. They really don't take no for an answer." He laughed as Caroline got the photographer to take a picture of us. After a few pictures, I got the chance to look around the house. The living room had been emptied of its furniture, minus the two large chairs. The stairs were covered the navy and white lights. The large TV was on NBC, showing the usual TV programming for New Year's. In the dining room, a table full of food had been set up. The house looked more like something out of a catalogue than something that was actually occurring.

The doorbell rang and we all made our way to the foyer. Caroline opened the door, welcoming in a couple that was about Caroline and Rhett's age. They both had dark brown hair. The wife was tall, with a fake tan, but she didn't look bad. She was wearing a brown dress with a low front that was almost as fitted as Caroline's. She looked pretty, and she smiled at all of us. She air - kissed Caroline and Rhett and hugged Rosalie and Jasper. She grinned at me. "You must be Bella," she cooed. "We have heard so much about you from Caroline. I'm Lorena." Her husband gave me the same greeting, before moving into the dining room.

The second couple was much the same, but the wife was short and had beautiful dirty blond hair. It was pulled into a low ponytail. She was wearing a salmon colored dress that went well with her skin tone. After the initial greetings were finished, the best looking couple I had ever seen walked in. The girl was short and blonde, and her hair had volume at the top, and fell into big, messy waves. Her skin was like porcelain and the navy dress she was wearing set it off perfectly. She smiled when she saw Rose. "Rosalie!" she squealed, moving forward.

"Charlotte! It's so good to see you! You look beautiful!"

"Not nearly as beautiful as you!" she said, letting Rosalie go. "Oh, my god, is that Bella?" She looked at me, beaming. "Hi Bella, I'm Charlotte! It's so nice to meet you!" She pulled me into a tight hug.

"You, too," I replied, hugging her back. "I love your dress."

"Thank you! I love yours as well."

She looked back at the door, but her boyfriend wasn't there. She looked over my shoulder at Jasper, who was talking to a guy that could only be described as tall dark and handsome, and I noticed he looked just like his dad. His hair was cut close to his scalp, and he was wearing khakis and a navy sweater. "Hey there, Bella, I'm Peter."

"Hi," I said. Jasper came and slung his arms around my shoulders.

This was not the Peter and Charlotte I expected. I pictured Charlotte as a tall, extremely skinny brunette for some reason. _This_ Charlotte was prettier. She had big, bright blue eyes that shined when she smiled, and practically radiated happiness when she laughed. She had red lipstick on her full lips that set off her eyes, and the navy strapless dress she was wearing. Peter was similar to what I had pictured, but he had a softer face. He had light hazel eyes, and he was very tall. His ears stuck out a little bit, giving him a youthful appearance. Charlotte almost came to his chin in the 4 inch heels she was wearing. I found them to be a very cute couple; they set each other off very well.

Peter was cocky, and rather annoying, but he was irresistible. I found myself wanting to slap him more than one time that night, but by the end of the night, I found that we were going to be great friends. I loved the way he made Jasper laugh. His happiness finally met his eyes. Emmett made him laugh, and he made him happy, but I think Jasper finally found what he was looking for.

Charlotte was more reserved than Peter was, but her personality could only be described as bubbly. She giggled a lot, and when Peter made a stupid comment, she hit him, but I don't think I had seen people more in love. We sat in the room with the most seating, and where most of the adults had congregated. It was hard to hear, but what I was hearing made me laugh so hard I almost cried.

Peter told the most embarrassing stories about Jasper from when they were younger, and some of them, I don't think Charlotte had even heard by the way her eyes bugged out when he was finished telling them. "So, Bella, our sophomore year of high school, our school had a date auction for Spirit Week, so Jasper and I decided to sign up for it. We spent hours in Jay's garage practicing what we were going to do. So finally the night of the auction rolled around, and we were getting ready. I had on a hat backwards, and Jasper's hair was longer and a lot curlier than it is right now, so he had it in an elastic headband. We walked out in gray sweatpants and black hoodies. And under that, we had those florescent eighty's running suits. We looked so hot, didn't we Char?" She giggled while nodding.

"Yep, you guys looked great." She replied, with an eye roll.

"So anyway, besides looking excellent, we started off doing some kickass dance we made up, and then we did the Can't Touch This dance, and then we jerked, and some other stupid thing I can't remember right now. But then I was doing some crazy move and I was really getting into it, and I turn around and Jasper's falling off the stage. Like, I'm talking onto the girl that's in the front row. And I'm trying not to laugh because it's hysterical but I'm worried he's hurt so I walk over to the edge of the stage and he's just laying there on the ground. And I look over, and I see his black discarded sweatshirt we had taken off and your boy here just decided to slip on it. I jumped off the stage and try to pull him up and he hops up and all the girls rush up and bet on him just because he fell." Peter laughed until he was crying.

"Oh my God, I totally remember that!" Charlotte said. "The girl was just happy Jasper fell on her. You two really did make some money that night though." She started laughing and Jasper was redder than I ever had been.

Rosalie was giggling. "That was hilarious, but I only saw it on video because Mom was there taping. I couldn't go because the cheerleaders had practice that night. I bet Mom still has that…"

"I thought I told her to get rid of that!" Jasper said, laughing himself.

"I want to see that!" I told Rosalie.

"I'm sure Mom will be more than happy to show you before we leave." This threw Peter into a whole new mess of laughter and we all laughed until our sides hurt.

Charlotte asked me if I would come with her to get something to drink. We walked into the dining room. "I've known Jasper my whole life, and I've never seen him light up like that." She told me, putting some sweet tea into a wine glass.

"I've only known him since August, but from what I've heard, he acts like a new person."

"He does. I hope we get to see more of you, Bella. I've got a feeling we're going to be great friends! And Peter seems to really have taken to you." I smiled at her. "By the way, I know I've told you this, but where did you get your dress? It's so wonderful."

"To be honest, I don't have a clue. Caroline and Rosalie took me shopping a few days ago and we got it then."

"Well, I'll have to ask her! But let's get back to the boys; I would hate to leave Rosalie alone with them for too long."

**JPOV**

Bella looked beautiful. That was all I could think when I saw her. For the first time in my life, I was actually excited for the party. It had been held since I was 9, and I always dreaded it. When Peter and Charlotte showed up, I wasn't even sure what I had been worried about Bella and them not getting along. They got along perfectly and I'm pretty sure she was more than entertained hearing ridiculous stories about me from a long time ago. At 3 minutes until midnight, everyone came into the living room to watch the ball drop on TV.

We counted down from ten, but I wasn't watching the ball drop. I was watching Bella. She was counting down with Rosalie at the top of her voice. She was so excited. The ball dropped, she looked at me. "Happy New Year's!" she yelled, grinning like the Cheshire Cat.

"Happy New Years, baby." I said; as I leaned down to kiss her.

**Okay, so I hope you all found Peter's story funny because I used something that really did happen in my life as inspiration and I tried my hardest to make it funny, but it might be one of those stories where you're so excited to tell it that when you do it just fizzles out, haha. No, they didn't fall off the stage, but the dancing and stuff is all true, and they did fantastic! And went for a ton of money. and jerking is a dance that EVERYONE at my school does, if no one knew hahaha.  
**

**And I was reading a story a couple weeks ago where the girl posted pictures of her characters, and Peter and Charlotte were Amanda Seyfried and Channing Tatum and I just love them together so props to her. And if you haven't heard Channing Tatum laugh, LOL. Look up Dear John bloopers on youtube because it just brightens up my day. So when Peter is laughing, just picture his laugh in your head because I absolutely love it.**

**Reviews are so sweet :)) Until next time! **

**PS- A New Start is not over yet! **


	19. Chapter 19

**Hello all! Over 100 reviews! Oh my god, that's amazing! I love you all! This chapter is to hopefully tide you over incase I don't get to update until I get back from vacation, which will be on Sunday afternoon! I hope you all like.**

**BPOV**

After finally finding my bed at around 3 AM on the 1st, I expected myself to sleep way past when I normally awoke. Unfortunately, I was wrong. I woke too early, even for my taste, and I walked downstairs. Caroline was in the kitchen alone. It was the first time I had seen Caroline not all done up. Her long hair was up in a ponytail on her head, and she had on no makeup. She was in black yoga pants, and a white long sleeved t shirt. She was probably still the most gorgeous woman I had ever seen; besides Rosalie, of course.

She jumped a little when she heard me enter the room. "Bella, honey, you scared me!" She said, laughing.

"I'm sorry! I thought you heard me. What are you cooking? It smells absolutely delicious."

"Thanks honey. It's country ham, biscuits, homemade waffles, and grits. Is there anything you'd like me to cook special?"

"No! That all sounds amazing." She gave me a brief cooking lesson, and that's when everyone else came out.

We were leaving Texas on the 3rd, so we had two more days of break left. Rosalie was upstairs talking to Emmett in her room, and Jasper and I were watching _Animal House. _I found the movie to be hilarious, and oddly ironic, but I don't think Jasper thought it was half as funny as I did. Maybe it was because he was in a fraternity and it wasn't _entirely _truthful.

"I really want to see that video." I said, turning to him.

"I'm going to go make sure my mom doesn't know where it is." He said, a smile tugging on the edge of his mouth.

"No, don't do that! Please let me watch it."

"Absolutely not!" I bolted for the door, but unfortunately he was faster than I was. "I don't think so." He said, gently pushing me back for the couch. I stuck my bottom lip out as we sat back down. "I think it would be adorable, so please, just let me see it."

"Fine," he replied. "I don't want to see it though. I've lived through the horrible experience enough." I giggled as I ran through the door, grabbing Rosalie out of her room. "Caroline!" I yelled, carefully running down the stairs. She was waiting at the bottom once we got down there.

"Do you still have the video of Jasper in high school, the one where he fell off the stage?"

"You bet! Do you want to watch it?"

"Yes, please!"

We went into her room, which was dark red, with white crown molding. There was a huge cherry wood sleigh bed against one wall. There was also a window seat, and a small sitting area. It was a beautiful bedroom. We walked into a small alcove where there was a _huge _computer monitor hanging on the wall, with a keyboard and everything else that goes with a computer on the table.

She looked through her files for a moment before pulling it up. I watched, as a fifteen year old Jasper strutted out onto the stage. Peter wasn't lying, his hair was a lot longer than it was currently, and subsequently, it was larger. It was precious, and I loved it. We all burst out laughing when he fell.

Later that night I was sitting with Jasper in his room. He was nervous to show it to me, but I wasn't sure why. It was a pretty spacious room, although it wasn't nearly as big as Rosalie's. The walls were a gray color, with the same hardwood floors that went throughout the house. I sat in the center of his bed, while he sat next to me so our feet were in the opposite directions.

"I like your hair longer." I said, twirling one of his curls on the back of his neck.

"I'm guessing Mom found you the video."

"She did. It was completely adorable. I think I fell in love with you all over." I blushed.

"That's sweet." He mused, lifting my face up so he could see my clearly.

"I need to ask you something." I said, and he looked nervous.

"Sure."

"When did everything go…wrong?" He sighed.

"That's a good question, and you deserve to know the answer. So let me think and tell you." He moved so that he was lying back on his pillows, and I lay on my stomach, propped on my elbows, so I could see him better. "To be honest, I don't know because that video was taken in October, and I started going downhill that next summer. When I met Davis, he was a senior, and I just remember thinking that he was the coolest guy ever and then he introduced me to Edward, and that's when it got really bad."

"They were the beginning of my downfall, and the worst was when I started blacking out. I cut off everyone, and I'm so thankful you didn't know me back then. But what I've gone through, I think that it's made me a better person, and I can pick myself up, and move on. Am I staying that I'm strong enough to go pick up a beer right now and not drink more than one? Definitely not. But I'm saying that I'm growing, and I'm more confident in myself."

He paused for a moment, but I didn't want to speak. This was a rare side of Jasper that I rarely saw. He didn't like to let people in too much, but I loved when he was open with me.

"I regret my decisions. I really do. I wish so badly that I could go back and change them, but then I don't think I would have met you." I smiled and so did he. "I'm also working on not regretting what's happened because I can't change what's already happened. I can only change my future, and that lies with you." I was really proud of him for what he had just stated. I knew he was strong, but I didn't know it was like this.

"You aren't saying anything." He said, rubbing his thumb across my cheekbone.

"I'm just so happy that I don't have anything to say." He beamed at me, a new light in his eyes. He pulled my head down to kiss me softly, just when Caroline called us downstairs to eat. It felt like one of those stereotypical movies where two 16 year olds are making out and then all the sudden something dumb happens to interrupt them.

The next two days flew by, and leaving Texas was a lot harder than I thought it would be. Texas had been so much different from what I thought it would be. Jasper's mother was quite possibly my new favorite person, and I liked his dad, too. Peter and Charlotte and I were going to be great friends, and I hoped I would see them more often than not.

Caroline and Rhett drove us to the airport on the 3rd. I sat next to Jasper on the plane, but I slept most of the way there. When we got back to Charleston, it felt like nothing was changed. The dorms were still mostly empty, and I was glad for the silence. After Rosalie and I had unpacked, we headed over to the Kappa house.

**RPOV**

I was more than excited to go back to Charleston. I missed Emmett more than I had anticipated. After I had unpacked, Bella and I headed over to their frat house. None of the other boys were back yet, so it would be just the 4 of us. I was barely on their street before Emmett was out of their house, coming to meet me. He picked me up, spinning me around.

"Rosalie!" he grinned, kissing my cheeks, the tip of my nose, and then finally my lips. He laughed and he set me down on the sidewalk. He was wearing navy pants, with some tennis shoes and a gray hoodie. He looked better than I remembered. I noticed Bella had already gone inside to find Jasper. It wasn't too cold, so we walked to Starbucks.

I liked going anywhere with Emmett, because people were always looking at us. It helped up my self confidence, but Emmett being himself, he didn't seem to notice. I constantly fought the urge to stick my tongue out at the girls that huffed at me. This trip to Starbucks was no different. We ordered and sat down.

"I missed you," he said, taking a sip of his drink.

"I know, I missed you too; tell me about your trip. Don't leave out a detail!"

He laughed his big, booming laugh. "Alright, hmm, well, I left the day after you did. I got to Nashville where my mom, dad, and brother were waiting at the airport. I was afraid they were going to bring the whole family, but thankfully they didn't. The day after I got home, my dad, my brother, my uncle, my gramps, and two cousins went down to the hunting club. My Gramps had redone it recently, so I didn't know what to expect, and it was my cousin, Cooper's, first time hunting."

I stopped him. "How old is he?"

"12."

"Okay, on with the story."

"Okay, well, we're out there and everyone's got a kill but Coop, and he's getting all upset because he thinks it's cause of his age, and he's especially mad 'cause his brother, Easton, has gotten two, and he's 16 by the way, and then we're all trying to help Coop out, but you know at that age you don't want help from anyone." Emmett began talking really fast, and his Tennessee accent was coming through strong, and I couldn't help but to giggle.

"What?" He smirked at me.

"Your accent, it's adorable."

"Oh." He replied, blushing. "Sorry."

"No, I find it adorable. Please, keep telling the story. Is this the time you got chased by the bear?"

"Nah, I'll get to that in a minute. But anyway, so everyone is getting really frustrated with Cooper because he will _not _listen to anyone anymore. So I take Cooper up into my deer stand, and it's getting really cold so we're just sitting there, and he hears some leaves rustling, and before he can even look to see what it is, he shoots. So before I can even yell at him, we hear a 'holy shit!' so we jump down and run to where we heard it and it turns out Coop's shot off Gramps' hat."

"Oh…my…god, are you serious?" I said, in between laughs.

"Completely. Fortunately, Gramps thought it was hilarious because something similar happened to him his first time so it was all good." I couldn't stop laughing. It wasn't even all that funny, but I could just see it.

"It was kind of Gramps' fault anyway because he shouldn't have been walking through that part of the woods, but he didn't know we were up there, but thankfully Coop's aim was a little bit off."

"Oh, I see, yes, thankfully. Did he ever get his first kill?"

"Yeah, a little bit later, Gramps took him up with him and he got it. He was so excited to have the blood smeared on his face. He was shaking so bad, he said he didn't know if it was from the excitement or the cold, or both." He smiled. "But I got the biggest outta all of them!"

"Congratulations! Did he have to drink the blood?"

"Nope, he wouldn't drink it."

"Good, because that's gross."

"Yes, but do you want to hear about the bear?"

"I thought you'd never tell."

"Shut up, you wanted to hear all about my trip. So on the second night of the hunting trip, we decided to go to my uncle's friend's hunting lodge instead of Gramps'. We drove a good 45 minutes away before getting there, and we're get all set decided to split up into a couple different groups because there's a ton of us."

"I'm with Easton, my dad and Gramps. We'd been sitting there for about an hour or so, and we hear this rumbling and we're all thinking 'what the hell is that' and we hear my uncle screaming 'bear' and a bunch of other obscenities so needless to say, we all took off running back to the trucks. That bear was monstrous! I don't know what kind it was, but it was ridiculous and all I know is that I ran for my life that day, and I'm still not sure if I'll ever go hunting again."

"But you obviously did, because when I talked to you on the 1st, you were just getting ready to leave."

"You are right, but I went to my Gramps' hunting lodge this time! I'll never hunt anywhere else!"

"I want to go hunting." I blurted out, randomly. I forgot to just think it instead. Emmett almost spit out his coffee, but instead it came out of his nose.

"You want to go hunting?"

"Yes! I've never been. It sounds really fun." I replied. "Take me seriously here!"

"I am. I just can't see you hunting. It creates a hilarious image in my mind."

"Well, I think I should get to come with you one time."

"I will, if you promise not to pull a Cooper and shoot my Grandfather's hat off." I gave a silly laugh.

"I won't."

"Okay then, I'll take you next hunting season, because it's over now. But tell me about your vacation. How was it?"

"It was really, really fun! Jasper had some troubles when he first there." Emmett's rosy cheeks paled a bit. "Don't worry, he didn't drink or anything. His old 'friends' from high school invited him over for his birthday and one of them, Edward, let the other one, Davis, think that Jasper did something that Edward had done."

"What did he do?" Emmett asked.

"Apparently, Edward had gotten into the habit of stealing things for the fun of it, and stole a lot of money from Davis. Then Davis got suspicious of Edward, so he blamed it all on Jasper…"

"Wait, that's a little bit confusing. So this Edward kid had gotten in the habit of stealing, he stole from the Davis kid, and then he started to think Edward did it, so Edward blamed it on Jasper?"

"You got it."

"Okay, continue, please."

"Alright, so they called Jasper over for his birthday, put something in his drinks and beat him up pretty badly. They brought him home, and Davis told my parents that he had drank too much and fell down the stairs, but I knew that wasn't right, so I went out after them."

"You knew there was something not right, but you went after them?"

"Jasper's my brother, what would you have done?" He nodded.

"So Davis got all cocky with me and intimidating, and Edward was standing by his car being all cowardly, and Davis basically told me that Jasper didn't drink, and they had done something to him, which really pissed me off. I tried to tell my dad, but he didn't believe me, but my mom did, thank goodness. On Christmas Eve, Edward came by and told us what really happened, which proved my theory correct, and my dad wrong. Everything went really well after that, though."

"That's good. I'm glad you had a good break. How did your parents take to Bella?"

"They absolutely loved her, and she loved them too."

"Do you think your parents will like me?"

"Oh, absolutely! They'll love you, too! My mom already likes the sound of you."

"Really?" He asked, smiling brightly.

"Yes. You can meet them over the summer, if you want."

"Of course I do."

I finished the story about the New Year's party, and Pete and Charlotte coming by. I told him about the video of Jasper in high school, falling off the stage. He thought that was pretty hilarious. I would have to get my mom to email to me soon. Life was looking excellent, and we were all back where we should be.

**Okay, I realize that deer hunting season ends on the 5****th**** of December, but this is a story so I can do whatever I want. I also have never been hunting, but my Papa owns a hunting club in Chester, SC so I'm a little bit familiar with it…but I haven't been "hunting" since I was 6 or 7 so it's hard for me to remember, and I didn't kill anything, so I didn't get the blood on my face, but my cousin did last December so I heard all about it! Oh and I hope Jasper's little speech wasn't too cheesy! **

**Note about the next few chapters: They're going to skip around on time. The next one should be in Summer, and then it's going to go to winter, and then the chapter after that SHOULD wrap everything up for the whole story. I'll do an epilogue separately, of course. **

**Reviews will make my vacation even better! Especially since I start school the day after I get back :(  
**


	20. Chapter 20

**Hello guys! Sorry it's been awhile. I'm in Jacksonville at my aunt's house, and I haven't had a chance to type the chapter up. This is kind of a filler chapter, and I hope it's good. I needed something to lead me into Summer. It's a little bit depressing (in my opinion anyway) so just bear with me. It'll get better next chapter!**

**BPOV**

College life in the spring was busier than I expected. The cold in Charleston was over fast, and the heat set in. Jasper had been completely sober since September and I found myself spending more time at the Kappa house rather my own dorm.

Sometimes I worried we were moving too fast, but then I would look at him and I realized I didn't care. Renee had already made plans for Jasper and I to visit over the summer. I was nervous what jasper was going to think of Renee…she was so scatterbrained and he seemed so used to…structure, I guess. Going home with him made me think of holiday break and it made my self confidence plummet.

Tonight though, it was break from studying and Jasper, Rosalie, Emmett and I were all out at a restaurant. It was the first week of May, and it was already 80 degrees. "So guys," Emmett began, "I was thinking that we could go to my beach house in Edisto sometime over the summer." He placed his drink back on the table, and adjusted his shirt sleeves.

"Where is that?" I asked. I had heard of it, but I hadn't ever been. I knew that Edisto wasn't too far away from Charleston, and it was a popular vacation spot for older people, but it was very beautiful.

"It's about an hour away, and it's kind of deserted, but it's really great. My house isn't exactly on the beach, but it's on the marsh, and it's really, really old and neat looking. My parents decided they wanted to go somewhere different for vacation this year, so I'm gonna spend the summer out there."

"It sounds like a lot of fun," Rosalie said, taking her silverware out of the napkin. We all nodded in agreement. After we finished dinner, I opted out of going back to the Kappa house. I was 4 finals away from being a sophomore in college, and I wasn't about to blow it to watch a movie at a frat house.

I was also 4 more days away from packing up and going home to Renee for two weeks. Which meant Jasper was also 4 days away from packing up and coming home with me. The anxiety started, and I quickly found my study guide to take my mind off of it.

The finals were much easier than I expected, which made the time go by faster than I wanted. Before I even knew what was happening, I was boarding a plane headed straight to JAX. I didn't say much to Jasper on the four hour flight, and he could tell there was something wrong with me. He didn't say anything until we got to the baggage claim, where Renee was running late as usual.

I had bitten my nails down to the quick, and Jasper looked at me with an amused look on his face. "Why are you so nervous?" He asked me, setting his backpack on the ground.

"I just am." I replied, shortly.

"There's got to be a reason." I was being rude to him, and he was trying to be nice, but all he was doing was making it worse.

"You're going to hate it here." I replied, staring straight ahead.

"Why?"

"You're…just so…" I didn't finish my sentence, and I continued to look away from Jasper and his general direction. Jasper turned my head so I was looking at him. But I still refused to meet his eyes so he tilted my head upwards, pulling my sunglasses on top of my head, effectively pushing the hair out of my face.

"Do you really think that lowly of me?" He asked me, very slowly. I had touched a nerve, but him being here had touched mine. Not in a bad way, just it made me very nervous. I wanted him here more than anything, but my self confidence was really becoming low at this point. The last thing I needed was him being angry at me for something I didn't mean to say.

"What?" I asked, incredulous.

"You're afraid I'm going to hate it here because you think that I'm uppity, don't you?" His voice had a serious tone that I had only heard once, and that was when he was telling me about Davis.

"No…I…" I didn't know what else to say. He had made up his mind, and I backtracked in my mind, going over the conversation in my head to find where I had said he was uppity. I know I hadn't, but with how it came out, it probably sounded like it. I understood why he was mad, but it didn't make it any easier.

"Yeah." He said, turning away from me. We'd been together almost a year and this was the first time he'd actually been mad at me. Renee pulled up before I could apologize. She parked her small sedan and got out. "Hi guys!" She yelled, much too loudly for the small space we were in. She pulled both of us into a hug.

"Jasper, you are just as good looking as Bella said!" Renee told Jasper, laughing as she did so.

"Glad she said something positive!" He laughed, putting his stuff into the trunk. He looked a lot nicer than he sounded at that moment. He _really _was mad at me. _Crap. I messed up the first weeks of summer. Nice one, Bella. _I climbed into the backseat, while Jasper sat up front with my mom.

Jasper was staying in Phil's mancave, while I was in the guest room. He greeted Phil with a warm smile. Renee showed him where to put his things, and then she went and started dinner. I let Jasper alone while he unpacked. To be honest, I wasn't sure what his temper was like because he had never been angry at me before. I knocked before I entered. He looked up at me, but he didn't say anything.

"I'm sorry," I said, very quietly. I wasn't one much for apologizing. It makes me feel…weak. I don't know why.

"I just don't understand why you would think something like that." He replied, keeping his eyes on the TV.

"I didn't mean it… I just got insecure with Renee..and you coming here…and I'm so sorry." I was on the verge of tears because not only did I hate when people were mad at me, but his was _Jasper. "_I didn't mean it at all. Please forgive me."

"It's alright, Bella. I forgive you." He stood up, hugging me. "Just please don't jump to conclusions like that. It hurts my feelings just like me being mad at you hurts yours." I smiled weakly at him. "Really, Bella. I've never told you his, or anything for that matter, but I was almost homeless for nine months. My parents never cut off my credit cars but I didn't want to use them. "

"While having money is a privilege that I enjoy because it allows me to do things like this, and to get the things I love, and to give you things I know you will love. Money isn't something that I _need. _I like this house, and I like Phil and Renee. They're so…refreshing. Most of all, I like you. Just the way you are and where you come from, okay?" I nodded. "Do you believe me?"

"Yes." I still had a hold of his waist and he pulled me back so I could look at him more clearly.

"You are funny, sweet, intelligent, and kind. You are also beautiful, and fantastic, and I love you. Please don't ever feel insecure about anything, especially not around me."

"Okay." That was all I could say. He kissed me softly before I pulled apart.

"I love you, Bella."

"I love you too." I paused for a minute before I said anything. I hadn't realized he had almost been homeless. He had never told me much about that period in his life. "You were almost homeless?" I asked, pulling us both onto the couch.

"You know me now, and you know my family. But you don't know what I was like back then. I've never let you know details because I didn't think you were ready to know, and I didn't think I was ready to tell you. But now, I think I would feel better if you knew. It's not a fun story. You love me, right?"

"Of course," I answered without hesitating. Of course I loved him.

"Okay. Well, like you know, after I decided to drop out of school in October, I left Charleston with the intention of never coming back. I knew a guy named Adam, and we left together. We stayed in hotels at first, and then motels, but after a while we got too drunk to even check into one, and we would get too drunk to pay the fee when we checked out, so we had to stop that after awhile."

"We started staying in abandoned houses, and Adam's car, but not having a house, we lost that after awhile. Yes, I could have used to my card to pay for things, but then my parents would know where I was, and I didn't want that. Hell, I didn't know where I was half the time. So we just stayed where we could afford, or whatever we could find. As long as we had our alcohol, we were fine." I listened very carefully. He looked so sad. My heart was breaking for him."

"I would tell you more about that, but to be truthful, it's hard for me to remember a lot of it. But I remember waking up one morning alone in a disgusting house, in the same clothes I had had on for a week. Adam wasn't there and I just remember I thought to myself 'this is not what I want. This is not what I need.' I wanted something better, and I knew I deserved it. I called Rosalie, and that helped me get back to Charleston. I could control my drinking some, but not enough. And then school started, and I met you and all of that changed. I remember my first thought when I started falling for you. Do you want to know what that was?"

"Sure."

"It was 'what did this poor girl do to end up with someone like me?'" I tried to laugh, but it just wouldn't happen.

"Bella, I understand if you want me to go home and take some time away from each other. It's a hard story to adjust too, and alcoholism is a hard thing to stay away from. Every day is a struggle to say no." My poor Jasper. He thought I would disappear after hearing this. I wondered if this was one of the reasons why he hadn't told me until now. This story only made me love him more.

"I don't want you to go anywhere. Everyday might be a struggle, but you say no every day. Look at what you have accomplished."

"Thank you," he said, grinning. He kissed my forehead. Renee came into the room, bringing some energy. Thank god she decided to finally enter the room. I didn't think I could take anymore angst. The familiar blush to Jasper's cheeks returned after a few minutes, and he settled back into his old self. The storm had passed.

**Sorry if Jasper sounded a little like Edward in this chapter, but I felt like I needed to have a back story as to why he was upset Bella would think that. I know I've said this 93274923 times, but I do need to wrap the story up. I hope y'all are still enjoying it!**

**I start school in two days so reviews would make me so much happier :) Until next time!**


	21. Chapter 21

**Hello all! Thank you all to those who reviewed last chapter! It means so, so, so, so much! I'm still trying to reply to y'all! The pictures of Cassina Point are on my profile. It's a real place! I went there last summer because its about six miles from my beach house in Edisto. It's also where Dear John was filmed. Peterbrooke is also real, I went there twice when I was in Jacksonville. Also the Botany Bay Road tour story Jasper tells is also true. It happened with my grandparents last year, ahaha. It was a very fun experience, to say the least. The pictures of the other thing in the story are also on my profile! **

**BPOV**

Phil and Jasper got a long so well I hardly saw him the whole 2 weeks we were there. Phil finally had someone to talk about sports with since Renee and I were completely clueless. On our last night there, Renee and Phil took us to a neat little restaurant downtown. On the way there, Phil showed us the Jacksonville Jaguars stadium and the big, new bridge they had built. It was a lot longer driver than I an anticipated, but that's Jacksonville. You pull out of a neighborhood and you're instantly on the freeway. It just wasn't my cup of tea.

After dinner, my parents drove us over to St. Johns Town Center to go to a chocolate shop called Peterbrooke. Renee swore they had the best chocolate covered popcorn ever invented. The combination sounded gross, and I was almost sure I saw Jasper gag a little at the thought of the so called chocolate covered popcorn. We pulled up to the shop that was beside a small nail salon, and a Starbucks. The store had light brown hardwood floors, and white walls. Chocolate candies lined the walls, with everything from chocolate covered Pringles to white chocolate covered pretzels. Renee picked up a giant tub of popcorn, and I almost choked on my own tongue when I realized it cost 56 dollars!

"Mom, why do you need that much popcorn?"I asked, as we walked out of the store.

"It will last a long time, and once you start eating it, you can't stop."

"It sounds really gross." I replied, getting back into the car.

"Don't knock it until you try it!" I laughed, and when Jasper was sure my parents were watching, he stuck his tongue out at me, cringing. I was glad we were on the same page about the popcorn. Although we did try it later, and it was just as gross as I had imagined, but Renee was right. As soon I started eating it, I really couldn't stop. I'm not what it was about it.

The next day, Jasper's parents paid for us to fly to Texas. We spent 2 weeks there as well, and it was just as fun as it was as Christmas. Rosalie had gone to see them while we were in Florida, but now she was with Emmett at his house in Edisto. We were flying back to Charleston, and Jasper made the decision to sell his beloved Savannah, so he could buy a new car when we got back to Charleston. I doubted he really needed to sell it, but he said he wanted something bigger and newer.

Emmett and Rosalie were waiting at baggage claim, smiling brightly when they saw us. Rosalie ran toward me, grinning brightly. She had on short navy blue shorts and a white button down shirt, and gray gladiator sandals. Her blonde hair fell as it normally did, and she had on almost no makeup. She looked gorgeous, she had obviously been tanning. I had learned not to feel envious of her, though, because it was pointless. She was going to be more beautiful than anyone else in the room.

"Bella!" She squealed. "I've missed you so much!"

"I've missed you, too, Rosalie!" I hugged her, while I watched Jasper and Emmett do that half hug - man pat thing.

"You look tan, Bella! Did you burn?" She laughed brightly.

"At first, but then it faded so it's all good now."

"Excellent!" she replied, walking us over to where the boys were standing. "I hear we're going car shopping today."

"You heard right, sister." Jasper replied, as we walked out to Emmett's large Jeep. We drove to the car dealership where he bought a Mercedes sedan that was in fact larger than his old one. All I knew about this car was that it was black, and it drove very fast. After we ate lunch, we headed down to Edisto. We drove though Hollywood, South Carolina, which kind of made me nervous because with Emmett's large jeep that looked expensive and with Jasper's new Mercedes, we definitely looked way out of place. I stared in awe that the sight around me.

Emmett was leading us once we got to Adam's Run, which was a small community with a post office that looked like a doll house. I wanted to stop and take a picture, but I found it pointless since there's pictures all over the internet. As we drove down 174, I noticed a large house that was far back from the road. I wondered who had lived there. I had to ask Emmett. Highway 174, I noticed was a small two lane road, with the marsh on either side. The tide was high and the water was coming onto the road. There weren't any barriers which made me nervous. Jasper reached over to hold my hand, but I made him keep both hands on the wheel.

We went over a large bridge and passed a small sign with a pelican on it that said "Welcome to Edisto!" I giggled as we passed a tree that was decorated with small pool inflatables and beach chairs. I found it odd it was in the middle of the marsh. That was another thing I would have to ask Emmett about. Emmett took a left turn down a small road with a neat little house on it. I almost thought we were stopping, but we continued down the road. We drove until it became a dirt road and we took another left turn.

Following the dirt path, we pulled up to a large gate that didn't latch, but there were two ponds on either side of the drive. I looked over to the one on the right and gasped. "Jasper, look! There's a alligator in that pond." He laughed.

"Yes, I suppose there is."

There was a sign on one large oak tree that said "Cassina Point."

"Is that the name of their house?" I asked, looking over at Jasper, who I was finally allowing to hold my hand.

"Yeah, I think so." We passed some horse stables, and finally saw a large white house. It had two doors next to each other. The roof was red, with large black pulled his Jeep around to the side of the house, and Jasper followed suit. I was in awe at how beautiful the house was. It looked out onto the estuary, and there were several benches stationed around the edge of the property. Rosalie took me inside to show me around, and Jasper went into the basement with Emmett.

**JPOV**

Bella was almost silent as we drove to Edisto. The scenery was beautiful, and yes, it was a very, very, very old island, but studying to be a history teacher, I had heard all about Edisto. I knew the history inside and out, and I was so excited to go to this house because Emmett had told me there was something to do with the Civil War here, but he wouldn't tell me what.

On the way down here, when Bella was silent in the car, I began to think about the fight we had in Jacksonville. It made me nervous that she thought that about me at first, but after she explained a little bit, I could understand where she was coming from. It was cute that I still made her nervous, even after all these months.

Once we were unpacked, Emmett walked me downstairs where he showed me that the Union soldiers had heated their bullets to write things on the basement walls. I felt like a huge nerd, but it was one of the coolest things I had ever seen. Emmett told me people had scrubbed and scrubbed over the years, but nothing would ever make it disappear. Him and I walked out to one of the benches, and sat down. "Have you ever been down there?" I asked him.

"Down in the marsh?"

"Yeah."

"Hell no! You'd have to call the coast guard to get you out of the mud. I've been in the creeks, but not here." I laughed. I could just see Emmett getting stuck in the mud. "Hey, we should go take the self guided Botany Bay Tour."

"What?"

"You drive yourself around. I've never been, but I've always wanted to go. How does that sound?"

"We're in!" The girls yelled, apparently listening to our conversation. We loaded up into the Jeep, and Rosalie had the map, which wasn't a smart idea. Emmett turned too soon on some back road that at some parts we had to actually go off roading to get around. Eventually we found our way back onto the actual trail, but we were going backwards. We forced some cars onto the side of the road because of how wide our car was. We were all laughing so hard our stomachs hurt. Emmett almost drove through the corn fields chasing after a creature he was making up. We pulled up to the remains of Bleak Hall, where we got out of the car and looked down in the well, the bar and the ice house. Emmett started running around, screeching. We followed suit, laughing until we all couldn't even stand up anymore. It felt so good to act like we were 10 again.

Later that night, Emmett and Rosalie decided to go to eat at the Old Post Office Restaurant. Bella and I opted to stay home since we had hardly had any time alone the whole summer. Once they left, Bella and I were lying in the bed talking. I was on my back, and she was on her stomach with her chin on my chest. I ran my fingers through her dark brown hair.

"Are you having a fun summer?" I asked.

"Yes. It's been busier than I wanted it to be, but I've spent it with you, so I'm glad."

"That's sweet." I said. I was so glad that we had moved on from our petty argument we had a month ago, we got along so well, and spending everyday with her for the last ten months, I knew she was the one. We were young, but she was all I was ever going to want or need. She was my light. My new start. We talked for a little while longer, and it was getting late. She was halfway asleep on my chest and I brushed the auburn hair from her face.

"Bella."

"Hmm?"

"You need to go to bed."

"Let me sleep here." She replied, snuggling closer. _Who was I to tell her no? _She got up to go and change and came back and fell asleep.

We spent the next month in Edisto, and then we all packed up and headed back to Charleston. Rosalie and Bella decided to move into together into a pretty good sized apartment that had once been an old warehouse or something. Emmett and I remained in the Kappa house, and luckily their apartment wasn't any further from the house than their dorms had been. School started earlier than last year, and I had some classes with Rosalie and Bella, probably because we all wanted to be teachers. Emmett though, was on his own, wanting to be a lawyer and everything.

A few weeks before Halloween, Bella and I were lying in her queen sized bed Renee had sent from Jacksonville. We were supposed to be studying, but somehow, we always found other things to do. We were both facing her television, with my arm around her. I grinned at the thought of what I was about to do. I looked down at her.

"Marry me." I said. She shot up instantly, her brown eyes wide. I grinned.

"What?"

"You heard me. Marry me."

"What?" she repeated. I started laughing. This _was_ the reaction I was expecting.

"Bella, I'm not going to repeat myself again."

"No…yes…no, wait I mean yes, but no, yes."

"Which one is it, Bella?" I smirked.

"It's a yes, but not now."

"I wasn't thinking _right now._"

"Don't be like that!" She giggled.

"I was kidding, but if not now, when?" I was curious as to what she was thinking. As long as she said yes, I didn't care when it was.

"At least junior year. I want to be 21 before we do anything."

"Really? That's it?"

"Yes."

"Why 21? I was expecting at least when we graduate."

"Well if you're asking now, you obviously want it to be soon."

"That's true, see; we're good for each other. You know me so well." I shrugged out of her bed, and I went to my backpack for the ring. I had gotten it a few weeks ago, and Rosalie had helped me pick it out. It was a huge round diamond that had an intricate pattern around the band. We both saw it and thought it fit Bella at once. Hopefully Bella wouldn't know how much it had cost… I would have liked to get her a bigger one, but Rosalie scoffed and said if it was any bigger, she wouldn't be able to lift her hand.

Bella got off the bed and came to stand behind me. I turned around and got down on one knee.

"Oh no, no, no. Don't do that, please."

"What?" I asked.

"Please don't get down on one knee. I liked the spontaneity; let's not do this the traditional way." She smiled brightly. I could see her point. We really weren't traditional, that was pretty much for sure. I had problems, she fixed them. I struggled every day, she helped me. I stood up, and slid the ring on her finger. She gasped when she actually looked down and saw it. "It's beautiful!"

"Thank you. Rosalie helped me." She kept grinning, and so did I as a slid the ring on to her left hand ring finger.

"I think it's good that you don't want to get married for another year or so." We heard from the doorway. Rosalie had been watching.

"Why's that?" Bella questioned, holding her hand out and examining it.

"I need time to plan it!" Rosalie said, her voice an octave higher.

"Oh, right you are!" She replied, laughing. She jumped up and down like a little girl. "She turned back towards me. I'm so happy."

"I am too, Bella. I love you so much."

"I love you too." I picked her up and spun her around. Rosalie and Emmett came through the open doorway.

"Congratulations, brother!" Rosalie squealed, moving forward.

"It's about time." Emmett said, moving Rosalie out of the way, very carefully and hugging Bella tightly. This was going to be a very interesting next year. _None of us could wait.  
_

**I hope you liked this chapter! Only one more real chapter! And then I'll write an epilogue, and I'll continue to post oneshots that pertain to this maybe. This has been such a fun story to write, and I hope you all enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. **

**Review and let me know how you think I did and what you thought! Until next time! :)  
**


	22. Chapter 22

**I'm so sorry if I didn't reply to your review, school is hell! It's on the second day and I'm about ready to throw in the towel! I've already had homework! Haha. Here is what you all have been waiting for: THE WEDDING! **

**BPOV**

"Bella, stand up straighter. I can't tie the back of your dress unless you're standing completely straight." Rosalie said to me, but I could barely hear her. I was wrapped in the thoughts and nerves of my fast approaching wedding day. It was the May before our senior year of college, and while Jasper and I had heavily debated on whether getting married in December or May was better, we decided on May since we could actually go somewhere for our honeymoon, and have the wedding outdoors and it wouldn't be overly warm. I guess I was still too wrapped up in my thoughts because Rosalie yanked on the ribbon of my gown. "Bella, this is your last fitting! If this dress doesn't fit you because you shouldn't get a hold of your posture; that is not my fault." I laughed as I realized she was right, and I stood like a soldier with my hands by my side and my shoulders straight.

I had a very, very simple dress since I wasn't too much for show, and the wedding was going to be outdoors. It was going to be held at Middleton Place, an old country home for Henry Middleton. It overlooked the Ashley River, and it the home itself was beautiful. The alter would be in front of a large Oak Tree, with guests sitting in white chairs with red ribbon attached to them. Those were the colors Jasper and I had had decided on, white as white can be, and red as red can be. They seemed like good summer colors to us, and Rosalie had agreed.

Rosalie had done most of the planning for me, since I only knew what I wanted and not how exactly to get it. She always seemed to be done with her homework before I could even start mine, so that was another reason why she planned it. I told her where Jasper and I had wanted to have it, and 3 days later, it was all set up. We told her what flowers, and that was also done within the next week. It was nice not having to worry about anything. But now we were about to be out for the summer and it was all I thought about it. It was hard not to be worried, but I was more excited about this than I had been for anything in my whole entire life.

She finished tying the back of my dress, and stood back. The sales lady came into the fitting room. "Oh, yes, that looks wonderful. That should not be a trouble to fix at all. I should have it done by next week, is that alright?"

"Yes, absolutely," I replied. We still had three weeks before the wedding, and I wasn't rushing to get my dress. With my luck, it would be ruined before I even got to the wedding day. I had two bridesmaids, Angela, who I had grown up with in Phoenix, and Charlotte, who had become one of my greatest friends. Rosalie was my maid of honor, of course, and she was completely ecstatic. Jasper had chosen Emmett to be his best man, with Peter and John as his groomsmen. The bridesmaid's dresses were red, strapless and fell just above the knee. The guys were in black tuxes, with crisp white shirts and a red matching vest. They were going to look spectacular.

We finished up at the bridal shop, where we went to look for shoes. Rosalie found me beautiful white ballet flats because I sure as hell wasn't walking in grass in heels. They had a square toe, with a little bit of decoration around the end of the shoe. The other girls were wearing cream colored shoes, because I didn't want them to wear bright white shoes quite this early in the summer. I thought it would look tacky.

Rosalie and I walked back to our apartment, where I looked at the rings in their little boxes on the counter. They were silver, but mine was thinner, and had little diamonds in it that matched my engagement ring. Jasper's was just plain silver, but we both thought it would look funny if it was too decorated. I felt stupid standing there in the middle of the kitchen, holding two tiny black boxes, so I shut them with a large snap and went to find something else to occupy my time.

The rest of the three weeks went by uncontrollably fast, and it was hard for me to be alone with Jasper for even a few minutes because Rosalie was all over the wedding plans. I liked her around though; I wanted this day to be perfect, and with Rosalie, it was going to be nothing short. Three days before the wedding, Peter, Charlotte, Rhett, Caroline, the rest of Jasper's family that was invited, Charlie, Renee, Angela and Phil, and the rest of my family flew in from their various states.

It was nice to all have them here, but there were so many of them that it was difficult to see all of them for extended periods of time. The good thing though, is that they all stayed within a few blocks of us.

The day before the wedding, Caroline, Renee, Rosalie and I went and picked my dress and other things up. It was a busy day, especially because we had the rehearsal dinner that night. We showed up to Middleton Place separate from the guys, and I giggled as I saw Jasper. He was wearing navy shorts, and a light green button up shirt. His longer than usual curly hair was pulled back with an elastic headband, which I really loved because it just looked so damn cute. Caroline didn't find it as appealing as I did.

"Jasper Hale," she said, marching over to where her son had just gotten out of the car. "This is your rehearsal dinner, and you're wearing that stupid thing in your hair."

"Mom, calm down, it's not like we're actually getting married right now, and Bella likes it." He replied, meeting me halfway down the sidewalk. "Don't you?" He smirked.

"Oh no, don't bring me into this!" I said, smiling. Caroline gave up on trying to get her son to take out the headband, because it left a heavy crease in his hair.

"He has such beautiful hair and he ruins it by doing stupid stuff…" Jasper and I heard her mutter to Renee. They were getting along wonderfully, and they really helped putting the final touches on everything. Everything ran through smoothly, and I got to walk the grounds with Jasper for a little while.

We walked hand in hand by the river, through the line of trees, and out over a small bridge. We stopped in the center of the bridge. I stood with my lower back pressed against the rail, while he stood in front of me, with his hands on either side of my hips. I locked my hands around his neck and smiled up at him.

"Are you ready to give up being a bachelor? I think you're going to be the only frat boy in history that's married…" I said, smiling.

"That's a really good point." He said. "Maybe you're right." I glowered at him, and he started laughing.

"I'm only kidding, honey. I can't wait to be married to you. I don't even live in the house anymore so technically I'm not a frat boy, but I guess I still kind of am since I'm still a member. And since I did classes over the summer, and I graduate in December, I won't even be a college student in seven months." He looked at me, seriously. "Are you ready to marry me?"

"Absolutely, I've looked forward to it for a year and a half."

"That's what I like to hear." He leaned down and pressed his lips to mine. I smiled against his lips. We kissed for a few moments before I pulled back, to make sure I wasn't a complete wreck.

"How much money do you want to bet that in about a minute and a half that Rosalie or someone is going to come find us and drag us apart?"

"You were off about a minute and ten seconds!" I heard Caroline yell, with my mother laughing beside her. "Bella, it's time to go!"

"Mom, why are you all over this?" Jasper asked, rolling his eyes.

"Because it's my only son's wedding tomorrow and we've already let you see her 24 hours before the wedding, so now it's time to go!" She replied, turning towards me. "Ready, Bella?"

"Sure." I replied, kissing Jasper twice before I walked off with them, leaving my fiancé standing on that small bridge.

All of the girls were going to Emmett's beach house to spend the night because for one, it was large enough, and two, it was far enough away so no one (meaning me, I had a specific feeling) would sneak out, and for two, it was close enough to get back to Charleston in time for the wedding, which was 5 in the evening. We drove down to Edisto, listening to all the women tell their wedding stories, and sharing funny jokes they had heard.

Rosalie and Renee woke me up early the next morning, way earlier than I would have liked, but they said I needed to get everything done before 3, because that was when we were leaving for Charleston. They pulled me into the master bathroom, sat me down, and that was it; I was a goner. After what seemed like a few hours of discussion, and every woman in the house had had their input, they decided to leave half my hair down, and braid two small places of hair, bringing them around the sides.

Caroline decided to do my hair, while Rosalie did her own, and Charlotte's. Angela decided she also wanted to do her own. Caroline very carefully pulled my hair around a large curling iron, creating large curls and waves, and also making volume. She carefully picked up a large portion of hair, French braiding it into my scalp, and bobby pinned into the back of my hair. She repeated the action on the other side. Everyone awed when they saw me, which made me blush, because I wasn't used to everyone looking at me like that.

Caroline apparently was going to spray my hair with so much hairspray that she gave me one of those face protector things Dolly Parton had in Steel Magnolias. I laughed when she sprayed my hair, I was afraid if I got too close to a flame I would suddenly ignite. My make up was simple, and by 3:05, we were all out of the door, dressed and prettied up for a wedding. I felt so nervous I could barely walk. It was a good nervous-excited though.

**JPOV**

Wedding. _My wedding._ I never though I would ever get married. It just didn't seem like the thing for me to do, but that was when I didn't know Bella. The decision to propose to her wasn't spontaneous, I had planned it for sometime, but the moment just seemed right to me. Our whole relationship had been based on gut feelings, and I figured why should proposing be any different?

I worked hard through the summer before our junior year so that I could graduate in December instead of May. Seven months wasn't that much of a difference, but it would mean more time spent with Bella, which, to me, was worth more than anything in the world. I felt extremely cheesy when I thought that, but love makes you do weird things.

I hardly saw Bella these last few months alone, which drove me insane, but she wanted this wedding to be absolutely perfect, and I wanted that for her, too. Rosalie was just the person to get something like this done, and I trusted her, for the most part, anyway. When all the family flew in, I felt kind of overwhelmed, because I hadn't seen a lot of them in a couple years. They didn't seem to believe I was getting married either, because I was going through with it come hell or high water. This is what I wanted, and I didn't care what anyone had to say about it.

My favorite part of the rehearsal dinner was when I got to spend a few minutes with Bella. We were alone, away from everyone else. I could see and feel the happiness radiating from her as we stood on the small bridge at Middleton Place. It was really a beautiful place, and I was glad I was going to get married here. Bella had brought it up a month or two after we had gotten engaged, and it just worked with our personalities. The worst about getting married though had to be the fact I wasn't allowed to see her before. I wanted to know what she looked like so badly.

Emmett, Peter, John and I drove back to the hotel we were staying at and Emmett punched my arm. "Stop moping. Jesus. You're turning into a sissy."

"No, I'm not!"

"Emmett, he's just _in wuv." _Peter said, jumping into the conversation.

"That's not fair! I'm being ganged up on!" I replied.

"Aw, Peter, look, Jasper's getting all upset because we're picking on him." They were laughing and I was trying not to. "Screw you guys. I'm going inside." I said, as I got out of the car and went to my room. 5 PM tomorrow couldn't come fast enough for me. I woke up the next day, excited and jumpy, ready to head out to Middleton Place, but unfortunately for me, Peter and Emmett weren't awake yet.

I decided to get some pay back for last night. I walked slowly into their connecting room, shutting the door behind me. I jumped on Emmett, I mean, literally jumped on him, pushing all of my weight on him. He groaned. "That hurt, you know, to be woken up like that." Peter sat up.

"What the hell is going on?"

"Pay back!" I yelled, but since Peter was now awake, it wouldn't be nearly as fun, so I just left him alone. John had been asleep in my room, and he hadn't joined in on "let's make fun of Jasper time" so I left him alone as well. We all showered and went downstairs to get breakfast. Then we grabbed our tuxes and met up with Charlie, Rhett, and Phil and headed out to the venue. The outside was all set up, so we went into where we were supposed to prepare.

At 4:55, all the guests were seated, and promptly at 5, Emmett, Peter, John and I all took our spots at the front. The ceremony hadn't even started and I saw my mom crying. Renee was holding back her tears, but I could tell she wanted to. The music started to play from the outdoor speakers, and Angela entered then Charlotte, then Rosalie. She was practically basking in the attention, but she was holding out because this was Bella and I's day. The music paused for a moment, switching to the traditional wedding march.

I saw Bella and Charlie step around the corner and I almost cried myself. I tried to think about other things so I wouldn't, but it just wasn't working. I was just going to have to suck it up. Bella's dress was an off white color, with a peachy colored sash under the bust. It was strapless, which accentuated her petite frame. Her hair was long and wavy, with some braids in it, and she looked better than I ever thought she could. She wasn't wearing a veil, which I didn't really expect her too. It wasn't her taste, or mine. After what seemed like an eternity, she reached me. I took both her hands, and we stood there, smiling like idiots. But hey, it was our wedding. We were allowed to look stupid.

The minister looked at both of us, and started speaking. "Ladies and gentlemen, we are here to witness the joining of two lives together." I stopped listening after that because all I could see was Bella. He apparently called my name twice.

"Jasper, please say your vows." We had traditional ones, because Bella and I found it too cheesy to say personal ones in front of everyone. She and I decided we would say those to each other later, when it was just the two of us. We both had memorized what we were supposed to say, though. "I, Jasper, take you, Bella, to be my beloved wife, to have and to hold, to honor you, to treasure you, to be at your side in sorrow and in joy, in the good times, and in the bad, and to love and cherish you always. I promise you this from my heart, for all the days of my life."

Bella started crying, which almost did me in. _I was not going to cry, but damn if she just didn't have that effect on me. _

"You may now place the ring on her finger." She held out her left hand, and I slid the ring on. It fit very perfectly, and I loved the sight of it. The minister turned to Bella. "You may now say your vows."

"I, Bella, take you, Jasper, to be my beloved husband, to have and to hold, to honor you, to treasure you, to be at your side in sorrow and in joy, in the good times, and in the bad, and to love and cherish you always. I promise you this from my heart, for all the days of my life." _Damnit, that did me in. _I felt myself start crying.

"You may now place the ring upon his finger." Her tiny hand slid the ring onto my finger, and she smiled radiantly at me. "I now pronounce you husband and wife! You may now kiss the bride!" I leaned in and kissed her sweetly, and I could hear the claps behind us. We separated, and faced the crowd. Bella and I walked down the aisle, hand in hand, as Mr. and Mrs. Hale, as we would be for the rest of our lives.

**I hope this was excellent! I will do the reception as the next chapter, I think, but it won't be too and then I will obviously still do the epilogue. I hope you like this chapter. Let me know how you think I did! **

**Reviews are always loved! They brighten up my day!I love you all! :D  
**


	23. Chapter 23

**Hello all! Thank you all SO MUCH for your reviews. I tried to reply to all of you, but I was practically falling asleep as I did, so if I missed anyone, I apologize. Okay, well this is not the reception, but the epilogue. Sorry! I hope you like it! **

**I think this may have been my favorite chapter so far to write :) **

**BPOV**

Two days until the local high school started. I was more than excited to start teaching English 1 and 2 honors at the local private school. All the books and poems for English 1 were my absolute favorite, and I could deal with English 2. I was hoping to teach juniors, but freshmen and sophomores would work just fine.

After Jasper and I had gotten married, Rhett, Caroline, Renee and Phil all got into together and bought us a house on Rutledge Ave. I felt guilty for accepting it because it was so expensive, but it was a beautiful house, and that was what they wanted to give us. I had a feeling that his parents were so intent because they felt like they owed me. It was my pleasure for bringing Jasper out of whatever hole he was in, but we accepted the house without any qualms.

The house was a beige color, and when you walked in, there was a very large hallway that had white columns on either side. The fireplace was at the end of the hallway, with seating on either side. There was even a small library. On the way up the stairs, there was a landing with a beautiful stained glass window. The kitchen was on the small side, but it was updated. The floors had been restored, along with the ceiling and the front porch. I almost had a heart attack when I looked outside and there was a pool. This was getting slightly more than ridiculous.

We had gotten all our stuff moved in about three weeks after we had gotten home from our honeymoon. We had spent a week in Stockholm, Sweden, and then a week in Athens, Greece. To say I had gotten more than a little sunburned in Greece would be a laugh. It had been more fun than I ever imagined, since I had never been more than 3,500 miles from my front door. We had finally finished unpacking everything, putting pictures of our family on the mantle. We decided to paint the living room a muted sea-green color. We got a light beige sectional sofa, and curtains to match. We also had two dark brown recliners to go with the sofa.

We got a medium sized dining room set to go in the dining room. We painted that room a light red, and our table was a dark brown, and it sat higher off the ground than normal and it was nice to actually have somewhere to call my own home, with my husband. _My husband. _I could say that all day, and every day. It would never get old. We kept the kitchen the color it was before we moved in. Upstairs, we kept the guest rooms pretty simple; we weren't expecting that many guests currently. Our room was a light blue, and we had a black bedroom set. It was bright and cheery, something that we needed.

Jasper and I both groaned as his alarm went off at 6am. "Damn," he groaned, pulling me closer.

"You need to get up and go to work." I replied, trying to go back to sleep. I didn't have to start getting up until Tuesday. All the work I had to get done before school, I had gotten finished the previous week so my boss told me it was fine if I didn't come in. I had to be in on Monday night though for the incoming freshmen who had me. I was glad my first year teaching was going to be a private school, so it meant smaller classes. I only had 13 children in my first period, which was English 1 Honors: Genre Analysis. I had outlined the syllabus, the rules, and the school schedule. I was as nervous as I was my freshman year of college, but I had gotten through that with flying colors so I figured it was going to be just as easy.

"You're actually trying to get me out of bed?" Jasper asked, laughing into my hair.

"Yep, because I'm very tired, and you start your job today, so up!" I giggled.

"Not fair," he said, groaning again as the alarm went off again.

"If I get up as well, will you get up? I'd hate for you to be late on your first day."

"That works for me." I sat up from underneath his grip, kissing him before I climbed over him, running down the stairs before he could catch me. I made my way downstairs, putting the small container of premeasured coffee in the Keurig brewer. Jasper was rumbling down the stairs, and shortly after, his head darted around the corner. He was wearing navy pants with a gray button down. He looked really nice, and I was jealous for a second that he was going to be around other women teachers for the whole day. I quickly wiped that thought from my mind and I smiled at him. He took his cup of coffee and smiled. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Are you ready for the day?" I asked.

"No. I'd rather be asleep, and I sure the kids will too. I hate first days."

"You'll make it fun, I know you will."

"Thanks, but I think it's physically impossible to make any first day fun."

"If there's a will, there's a way." He cracked me a crooked grin, before kissing me goodbye and rushing out the door because he was running late.

I had just barely made it to the top of the stairs when the doorbell rang. Groaning and silently cursing whoever was at my front door, I walked slowly down the hallway, laughing as I saw Rosalie standing in the doorway. I unlocked the door and she practically ran me over running through the door. She was wearing black high waisted pants with a white button up sleeveless blouse tucked into them. She had on heels that made me cringe just looking at them. Her hair was down, falling in its usual thick curls. The large diamond ring Emmett had given her the previous winter was on her left hand, which was currently situated on her hip.

"Rosalie, what's the matter?" She looked worried as she walked into my living room and sat down.

"I don't think I can do this teaching thing." She said.

"Why?" She had been so excited about teaching. Rosalie was teaching at the lower division of the same school I was teaching at, which was across the street and was also starting today.

"I'm just afraid I'm not going to be patient enough with the children."

"Rosalie, you're going to be the most fantastic second grade teacher I've ever seen. You're great with kids. You didn't go to school for 4 years for nothing, hon." She still looked nervous, but she stood up once she realized what time it was.

"I hope you're right!"

"I know I am! I'll see you and Emmett for dinner tonight at 7!" I yelled as she hastily shut the front door behind her.

I spent the day cleaning, sleeping, lying out by the pool, and around four I started dinner. We were having lasagna, garlic toast, and whatever else I could think of that went with dinner. Emmett arrived at my house first, dressed in his fancy work clothes. He had been working as a lawyer for a few years now, and he was making more money than I cared to think about it. I was happy for him though.

Jasper arrived next, looking completely exhausted. "How was your first day?" I asked, putting his bag in the closet.

"Long. I like my AP classes, but my CP classes are impossible to deal with so far, and honors is okay, too." I felt bad for him. He was teaching at a public school, so I could only sympathize.

"I'm sorry."

"It was just the first day, so it'll get better, I'm sure. Are Rose and Em here yet?"

"Rosalie isn't, but Emmett's in the kitchen." Rosalie arrived a short time later, looking ten times less worried than she did earlier in the day. I knew she would make an excellent teacher. All of the kids sounded completely adorable, and my favorite had to be a little boy named Ben, who kept calling her mommy. I think that was sort of Rosalie's hint to Emmett that she wanted kids ASAP, even though they weren't even married yet. That got me thinking about babies as well, as Jasper began to play footsie with me under the table, like a kid.

**_Four years later…_**

**JPOV**

I had been teaching for four years, and I loved it. It was hard when you had those young girls who were always trying to throw their boobs around to get extra credit, and it annoyed the hell out of me, and the kids that misbehaved. The best thing about teaching though, was feeling like I was changing people's lives; it was so empowering. I was in the library of our home, and my AP students had just taken a rather long test, and I wanted to grade them as fast as possible, because the exam was coming up soon. About halfway through the stack, I heard the little pitter patter of tiny feet on the hardwood floors.

"Ian!" Bella yelled, following him through our house. "Your daddy is trying to work! He'll play afterward." Ian James Hale was born the summer after Bella and I had finished teaching our first year. Bella had taken the next year off, but had gone back when he was one, and he was now three. My little boy looked just like me in the face; he had my face shape, my eye shape, my chin, my nose, everything but my coloring. He had Bella's eye color exactly, like carbon copies. His hair was also dark, but the curls were un-tamable, as mine were, and thankfully he was more tan, like me, instead of Bella. No one likes to see a sunburned toddler.

It was hard for Bella to keep up with him now, since she was heavily pregnant with our second child, a little girl, which I was over the moon for. We were going to name her Bailey Savannah Hale. Rosalie was also expecting her first child. She and Emmett didn't want to know what they were having, so it was going to be a surprise. Regardless of what the baby was, I was more than pretty confident that Ian, Bailey, and the rest of Rosalie's future children would be the most spoiled children and grandchildren that ever lived.

I put my papers down on my desk, and smiled at Ian, who was now standing in front of me, with his arms outstretched. "Why are you awake, Mister?" I asked, trying to sound stern, but I was failing. I was too soft on my children, but I figured being a toddler, it was easier to love them than to be mad at them for all their little quirks.

"Ian isn't tired." I prayed and prayed for the day when he would stop referring to himself in the third person. I knew it drove Bella especially nuts since she was an English teacher, but she did pretty well with it. Bella was an excellent mom, and I always knew she would be. She seemed like super mom, she always had dinner ready by 6:30, always had Ian ready for bed by eight, and all her papers and tests graded by 10. I wished I was as organized as her.

"I think it's time for you to go to bed. Would you like me to read you a story?"

"Yes!" He jumped out of my lap excitedly, running past Bella and out the door. He sat waiting on the bottom of the stairs, since we didn't want him to fall when he would walk by himself.

"I don't mind reading to him." Bella said. "We were watching TV and he just got up and took off before I could catch him. He's too fast for us."

I laughed. "I don't mind, he should be out before I even get the book even started. Go sit down. You look tired."

"I am, Bailey's kicking like you wouldn't believe." I held my hand over the right side of her stomach, and I felt her move. I smiled down at Bella as Ian began to pull on my pants.

"Daaaaddddy, come on." I picked him up as I turned and walked back up the stairs.

**_Two years later…_**

**BPOV**

Oh my God, my little Ian is starting kindergarten today. It feels like only yesterday he was being born, and then crawling, and then walking, and it just makes me want to cry. Ian requested a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, with cookies and a juice box for lunch. It isn't necessarily healthy, but what Ian wants, Ian gets. _Jasper and I were going to have to work on that…_

I could hear Ian running down the stairs, which worried me. I tried to count the stairs as he ran down them. "Mommmm," he whined. "Do you have my lunch ready?"

"Yes, here you go," I said, handing him the small Batman lunchbox. My little one had on a white Ralph Lauren t shirt that they made for little boys, some navy shorts and some white and light blue Nikes. They even had the little shocks on them. His dark brown curls were in a mess, and I was guessing that was his own doing.

"Ian, did you brush your hair?"

"Yes, mom…"

"No, you didn't. Come with me."

"We're going to be late!"

"No, we're not. If you would have done it in the first place, you'd be leaving right now." I more or less just moved his curls around, not even really brushing them. They looked better untouched. I made him stop on the front porch so I could take a picture of him and Bailey together. Bailey was jealous he was leaving, but she was also excited to spend the day exclusively with me. I had given up teaching for awhile until they were older.

Bailey Savannah Hale was 2, going on 25. While Ian looked just like Jasper in everything but coloring, Bailey looked just like me, with Jasper's coloring. We had 2 beautiful children, and we were so lucky. I didn't ever see myself as a mother, but once they were born, I couldn't see anything else.

Jasper came out a few minutes later, pulling me to his side once he realized I was crying. "Bella, he's going to be done at 2. And you're picking him up. Baby, it's only for a few hours."

"I know, but he's our little boy! And he's going to school already. He's more excited than he should be. What if he needs me?"

"Honey, you know Rosalie teaches at the school, and all of his friends from preschool are there. Don't worry, he'll be fine." He kissed my temple, and leaned down to be Ian's level.

"You ready for school, bud?" Japer asked our sweet little 5 year old, who was more happy about school than any 5 year old should be.

"Yes, dad, I am! So if we could please get the show on the road already…" He took off running down the stairs, not paying any attention to Bailey, who was still unsteady on the stairs. She fell on her behind, scaring her more than anything. I rushed to pick her up, while giving Ian a stern look.

"You're just like your dad. You knock things over when you're excited. Apologize to your sister, please." He looked up at Bailey.

"Sorry, Bailey, I didn't mean to." He rushed off to my Jeep, pulling the door open and climbing into his booster seat. He buckled himself in, while I put Bailey in her seat. I kissed Jasper goodbye before I left for the school. I saw Rosalie in the car line, waving cars forward. I knew all the dads in the school and all the older kids lusted after her. It must have always been a guy's fantasy to have that one hot teacher. She came over and helped her nephew out of the car. She walked to the passenger side window, and I rolled it down. "He'll be fine, Bella. Remain calm." She said, smiling, she turned to the back seat.

"Hi, Bailey."

"Hi Aunt Rose." I could tell Rosalie was rolling her eyes behind her sunglasses, but I knew she truly didn't mind being called Rose. Bailey was the same age as her little girl, Hayden.

"You'll be here in a few years."

"I don't want to come to school." Bailey replied, trying to sit up in her car seat. The cars honked behind us, and we said our goodbyes. I drove off, spending the day with my daughter. Promptly at 1:30, I left the house to pick up Ian.

**_13 years later…_**

**JPOV**

My son was a senior in high school, at some party a couple of blocks over. Bella and I had been hesitant to let him go because of my past, but he had proved over and over that he wasn't me at that age, so we let him go, very reluctantly. And now, on the same night, my sweet little darling daughter was going on her first date with some idiot named Chance. _What the dumb hell kind of name is Chance? And what makes him think he's worthy of going out with my daughter? _

"Bailey, I don't think this is a good idea." I said for the 23405th time that night.

"Dad, just calm down, you let Ian go to that party tonight, and I didn't ask to go, _even _though I was invited, so at least let me go on this date."

"Jasper, they're going out to eat and to a movie. Please don't have a heart attack." Bella said, coming through the doorway from the kitchen.

"Bella, she's 15 years old. She shouldn't be dating at 15."

"Dad! Don't talk about me like I'm not here!" Bailey said, scoffing her feet against the hardwood floors.

She looked out the window, and squealed. "Mom, he's here!" Bella actually jumped, which proved even more than I thought that this was a lost cause.

"Jasper, behave," Bella said, just as the doorbell rang. Bailey opened it slowly, as Bella wrapped her arm around my waist. I fought the urge to actually cough when he smiled at her. Bailey closed the door behind them, as they stood in the foyer. Bailey looked at us.

"Mom, this is Chance. Chance, this is my mom, Mrs. Hale." Bella smiled.

"Call me Bella, please." Chance smiled.

"Nice to meet cha." This Chance kid was trying to lay on the charm. He had a stupid Charleston accent, too.

"Okay, well, Chance, this is my, dad, Mr. Hale."

"Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Hale," he said, reaching out to shake my hand. I shook it more firmly than I should have, but the kid deserved it.

"What are you two going to be doing tonight?" I asked.

"Well, if it's alright with you, we were going out to dinner, and then to a movie."

"Actually…" I began, but Bella kicked me. "That sounds fine," I managed to get out.

"You two have fun!" Bella said, and they left.

"Bella, that wasn't nice."

"You weren't behaving." She replied.

"I was, but that's my little girl."

"Yes, and she's growing up."

"She's supposed to stay 4 forever."

"They all grow up. You seem fine with Ian."

"He's a boy."

"You better fix your double standard, Mister." She replied, snaking her arms around my neck. She kissed me for a second, before pulling back.

"What if our daughter gets her first kiss tonight?"

"Bella, I know you don't want to send me into an early grave." She laughed before kissing me again.

"No, I don't. I love you too much to do that."

"I love you too," I replied, smiling. I loved our perfect little life, and it would forever stay this way.

**I hoped you all liked it! I'll write the reception eventually, and probably along with their honeymoon.I just don't have ANY free time.I'm so very, very sad that this is pretty much the end to A New Start. I loved writing it, I hoped y'all liked reading it!  
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**Review and let me know what you think! I personally love Jasper as a dad...:)  
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